


In Order, Out of Order

by PaxEirene (ValaEnVash)



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Original Character(s), Time Travel, Timelines, but i wrote it during 11's reign, not my usual pairing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-11
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:01:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 45,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22658968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ValaEnVash/pseuds/PaxEirene
Summary: Something is stalking the doctor and his companions through his timeline, making just the slightest adjustments, giving the barest nudges.
Relationships: The Doctor (Doctor Who)/Rose Tyler
Comments: 8
Kudos: 61





	1. One

**Egypt; 2517 BC**

Egypt was a beautiful county, of course, but between the sounds of whips slashing the air and watching people…  _ slaves _ ... being forced to build this… this monument… turned her stomach. She'd never understand the cruelty some people could inflict on others. She was not ignorant in the ways of the Universe, but it didn't mean she condoned the oppression of a people.

It would be many, many years before this would end, and Susan Foreman knew subjugation in many forms had-is-would spread across the Universe. So, when she spotted the barest shadow of a woman's dark form coloring the ground in the dying daylight, she immediately thought to help. Grandfather could do it, so why not her?

As she approached, Susan quickly realized that she'd been watched as well. This woman was no slave; her clothes were clearly not of this time and her pale skin seemed to almost push the shadows away.

A voice rang softly through the air, breaking Susan's stride and confidence only for a moment before she paused only a few steps away from the stranger. 

"Hello, Susan."

Susan was intrigued. Sure, she's met loads of people that knew Grandfather, but none that knew  _ her _ .

"You must need to see Grandfather." She held out her hand and smiled. She felt absolutely no malice from this stranger and decided to trust her instincts. "I'll take you to him!"

The women smiled back at her, ignoring her out-stretched hand. "I wish I could, but it's not time yet."

"Oh?"

"But you can be my messenger. If you want." The woman shrugged delicately and watched the younger girl carefully.

Susan nodded. "Alright. What shall I tell him?"

"Not him. Not the Doctor. The TARDIS, please."

Susan was shocked, plain and simple. "The TARDIS? But… It's just a TARDIS!"

The woman smiled, "I know, dear. But we're old new friends." She stepped forward and reached for Susan's hand then. "Just tell Her that Bad Wolf will be waiting when the Time comes. She'll know."

Susan pulled her hand away and stepped back, then nodded once. "Alright. I'll deliver your message. But… Who are you?"

The lady smiled, a bit sadly. "Just a traveler, looking for Home." She stepped further into the shadows. "Good-bye, Susan Foreman. Be happy."

Before Susan could comment, a bright flash of light and a swift, short breeze kicked up, and the woman disappeared, leaving the frightened young Time Lady gaping.

Susan made her way rather swiftly to the TARDIS waiting over the dune behind her, and leaned against the inside of the rather magnificent ship's doors.

"Um… TARDIS?" She looked around the console room. "I have a message for you."

She felt awfully silly talking to the air.

"Bad Wolf will be waiting when the Time comes."

The lights in the room suddenly brightened and a happy chiming song sounded in Susan's head.

Her eyes widened dramatically and she laughed in shocked happiness.

"Oh, Grandfather!" She danced into the room and spun in gleeful circles. "Oh, this is  _ fantastic! _ "


	2. Two

**England. Earth, also known as Sol 3. 1866.**

James McCrimmon, affectionately known as Jamie, was running for his life and wishing it were an exaggeration. Those  _ things  _ had just killed someone! So, when the Doctor told him to run, he did, and without question.

_ Daleks.  _ Even the name felt dark.

He'd been running down the street for what felt like hours and his lungs were burning. He chanced a look behind him and saw the dark shadow of the Dalek less than a hundred feet from him. God! They were everywhere!

A bright light from the shop reflected off of the Dalek's eyestalk and made Jamie's heart jump in terror. Watching the monster hunting him made him miss the hands that reached out from the alley he was passing. But he sure felt the impact of the immediate stop the brick wall provided.

Jamie cradled the back of his head in his hand and clenched his eyes shut, keeping the world from tilting and spinning enough to nauseate him. He was reminded for a brief moment of the morning after he'd gotten into his da's whiskey.

"Sorry, mate." A soft feminine whisper floated around him and a small hand pressed to his hand he would've sworn was holding his brain in his skull. The pain disappeared. Gone, just like that, and barely even a memory of it remained.

"Thank ye, lass, but we need t' get out o' here quickly. There's this thing…" Jamie grabbed his rescuer's wrist to pull her deeper into the alley shadows but was jerked back when she made a grab for him. A quick succession of moves had Jamie pinned to the same wall the back of his head had become familiar with, and a surprisingly strong forearm pressed into his collarbone.

"Don't. Move," she growled at him.

Someone once said that an angry woman is like an agitated fountain—muddy, unpleasant, and lacking in beauty. But that man must have been an idiot because this one was gorgeous! Any effort he might have made to free himself suddenly evaporated as her whiskey and gold gaze drilled into him. Words dried up in his throat and he found himself gaping at this tiny woman.

Until the deep drone of the Dalek hunting him echoed into the alley.

Jamie paled and started shaking, closing his eyes and waiting for the shot from the creature that would kill him. The faces of his family raced through his mind for a moment and a lone tear fell down his cheek.

The woman found herself suddenly supporting the body of someone convinced they were about to die. She reached a hand to cup his cheek and wipe away the tear and placed the arm that had been pinning him around his waist.

"Hush, Jamie. It'll be okay. Just be still, alright?"

His eyes remained clenched shut, so he just nodded.

The grinding, whirring sound grew louder as the creature made its way to the mouth of the alley. And stopped. The eyestalk swiveled side to side, up and down, but made no movement toward the pair.

Jamie cracked one lid and would have run if not for the suddenly steel-like vise around his midsection.

_ Don't move,  _ she'd said. Alright then. He wouldn't move.

He cut his gaze to the petite blonde in front of him and watched in fascination as she just stared at the Dalek.

And then it left. Simply turned its horrible metal body and left, whirring sounds fading into the distance.

Jamie's jaw went slack and his knees weak and he found himself sitting on a rather wet ground, kilt splayed around his legs, staring up at his savior.

She was still staring at the mouth of the alley and he watched as the tension left her body like the fountain he'd compared her to – fluid and smooth. Her mouth cocked up at the corner and her gaze cut to him… Or where he'd been. An eyebrow arched and she looked down at him before laughing softly.

He was captivated. Her eyes swirled with gold before settling again and her laugh was pure and clear, like the sound of the bells tolling in the church tower in the distance.

She crouched down in front of him and he finally took note of her garb. Dark trousers hugged her legs and hips like a second skin, and a matching jacket was zipped up to the top of her bosom. A deep blue – a familiar blue – peeked out of the jacket while a streak of light from the street lit up a chain around her neck.

"Hello, Jamie." London rang in her voice.

He could only nod in affirmation. Yes, his name was Jamie. But… "How…?"

She snickered at his confusion before standing and reaching a hand down to help him to his feet. "Oh, I know all about you, Highlander. You travel with the Doctor. Outside your own time, sweetheart, I'd recognize that anywhere."

Okay, now he was really confused. "Alright, so ye know th' Doctor. What's tha' got t' do with anythin'? How'd ye stop tha' Dalek thing? Who are ye, lass?"

"Oh you are precious! I see now why he used your name!" She laughed again and tugged him along behind her and out of the alley.

"Wha'…" He tugged his hand away and stopped, fists on his kilted hips, and waited for her to turn around. "Who th' hell  _ are _ ye? And wha' th' hell d'ya mean 'used my name'?"

She cocked up an eyebrow again at the anger in his voice before walking back to him and placing a hand on his upper arm.

"James McCrimmon," she said softly. "You are  _ so _ important to that impossible man." She stroked down his arm to take his hand again, then looked up and into his eyes. If he didn't know any better, he'd've swore he'd seen her tear up a bit.

"Jamie. You need to be strong, alright?" Her grip tightened. "Things will be so wonderful at first, but it gets hard.” She nodded to the mouth of the alley. “Even harder than Daleks. But you need to be strong for yourself. The Doctor, he can handle himself most times, yeah. But you need to be there to stop him when you think he's going too far."

His eyes widened dramatically. She really  _ did _ know the Doctor. Now he was a little afraid of her, but it evaporated as she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. He wrapped his own around her reflexively. 

"Remember, Jamie. Just  _ remember _ ." She leaned back to look up at him, their arms still around each other. "And one day, if you need me, find me, James McCrimmon."

The mysterious stranger leaned up then and placed a soft kiss to his cheek and disappeared in a warm flash of light, apples, tea, and vanilla-scented gold. He placed a hand to his cheek and started back to find the Doctor before he'd realized he never got her name.

One hundred and forty-three years later, twenty-nine year old James McCrimmon sat in a park in Cardiff eating his lunch. He'd be starting his new job at Torchwood today. 

After the fiasco with those metal men a few years before, he'd been determined to do something more than studying history and grading papers. He still had nightmares about those killing machines – the press said they were once people but he found that too horrible to consider – and each morning after a nightmare, he'd wake up with a headache the size of Belgium.

He wadded up the wrapping to his sandwich and tossed it in the bin as he headed to Torchwood Tower. Time to meet the people that'd be signing his paychecks.

The new Tower rose gracefully into the sky. The old one had been torn down years before and the new tower moved here near Cardiff Bay. Jamie made his way inside the gleaming doors, introduced himself to the receptionist, and had a seat to wait.

Barely two minutes passed before a handsome gentlemen about his age called his name.

He rose to shake the man's hand.

"Mr. McCrimmon. Ianto Jones, personal assistant to the Director. Thank you for taking the time to meet with us so late in the day. Things have been… well, let's just say it's been interesting around here lately." The younger man smiled at Jamie, his bright blue eyes sparkling in mirth as he held open the lift door.

"Sure thing, Mr. Jones. No’ a problem at all!"

The ride to the tenth floor was silent and gave both men time to think. Ianto broke the silence with, "Mr. McCrimmon, do you know why you were asked to come work with Torchwood?"

"Honestly, sir? No' a clue. I applied after Th' Incident a few years ago. Really never thought I'd see th' day somethin' would come of it. "

"Mr. McCrimmon, you have to understand this job comes with a level of secrecy some could never handle. You couldn't tell your wife, your lover, your friends. Speaking of anything Torchwood-related outside of Torchwood? Just... don't."

"Understood, sir. Completely. I'm no' married, no lover, no wee ones runnin' about. Jus' me." Jamie shrugged and smiled at Ianto. "B'sides, I'll be happy filin' papers or runnin' errands."

The elevator dinged as it arrived and the doors slid open.

A loud, feminine shout rang through the chaos in the wide room they stepped into. "DON'T SHOOT 'EM! JUST CATCH 'EM!"

Jamie didn't waste a second tackling the massive red brute muscling his way past Ianto. His lighting quick pivot allowed him to catch the man… thing…  _ alien? _ ... and swing him around to slam into the closing elevator doors. A loud thump and it hit the ground with Jamie holding its arm high up between where shoulder blades should have been. Instead, black leathery wings spread out from near the spine to several feet on each side.

Jamie's knee bit into the thing's back above the waistline, immobilizing it in the space of a few heartbeats.

"Good job, mate!" A very disheveled, petite blonde in grey and blue pinstripe trousers and a light blue blouse ran up to them, blowing hair out of her face. The gun she carried looked wrong in her hand, but it fit her. He stared at her bare feet for a moment too long before she wiggled her toes, obviously trying to remember where she'd kicked them off to chase the intruder.

She smirked at his intrigued/shocked/amused look before helping him up to allow the guards to haul their prisoner away.

She holstered her weapon to her side. "Thanks again. You're quick! Glad you're on our side!" She grinned up at him, the tip of her tongue poking through her teeth. Where had he heard that voice before and why was his head killing him all of a sudden?

"You must be Jamie?" She shook the hand she still held. "I'm the Director of Torchwood. Name's Rose. Rose Tyler."

The locks in his brain fell like dust wiped from a shelf, allowing the memories locked away by the Time Lords to come rushing back. The leftover pain from his migraine vanished and he  _ remembered _ .

18th Century Scotland and the Battle of Culloden.

The Doctor.

Ben and Polly.

The Yeti.

The Ice Warriors.

_ Victoria. _

Daleks.

Her.

"You!" He gasped a breath into starving lungs and squeezed her hand tightly. "You're  _ her _ !"

Rose cocked an eyebrow at the strange man still holding her hand, then froze.

" _ You knew the Doctor!" _

Rose's hesitation melted away as she looked at Jamie, really studied him, and saw the truth in his eyes. Then, Rose Tyler, Defender of the Earth, the Doctor's Companion, the Valiant Child, threw her head back and laughed.


	3. Three

**England. Earth, also known as Sol 3. 1973.**

"Sir! You have a visitor." The young soldier saluted his superior officer from the office doorway.

"Really? Who?" His eyes never left the paper where he was scrawling his report to the Queen.

"Sir! She didn't give a name. Only walked in and asked to see you, sir!"

_ She? _ Brigadier General Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart looked to the young soldier that remained at attention in his doorway. "Very well. Show her in."

"Yes, sir!" The snappy about-face had the Brigadier rolling his eyes. Youth these days. So full of pomp and circumstance.

A few minutes later, the door opened again to admit a lovely young woman in a light blue skirt and white blouse, blonde hair pulled away from her face to fall behind her shoulders. She smiled at her escort. "Thank you, Bainbridge."

Bainbridge blushed beet red. The Brigadier had to hold back a snort of laughter at the man's schoolyard reaction, so he drowned it in a sip of brandy from his side table.

Bainbridge reached for the door and left with a quick, "Mum. Sir."

As the door closed behind him, his guest turned the full force of her smile on him. He could suddenly see why Bainbridge was so smitten. Had he been 10 years younger and unmarried, he'd have been just as bewitched.

"Brigadier General Lethbridge-Stewart. It's an honor to meet you, sir." Her smile didn't dim a bit and he was compelled to return it as he strode to her.

Their hands met as he replied, "Madam, I believe you have me at a disadvantage. You know my name, but I haven't the pleasure of yours," and kissed the back of her hand.

She laughed. "Oh, you  _ are _ a smooth one. Now I see where he gets it from." Her eyes sparkled with laughter at some inside joke.

He led her to a seat before leaning against his desk. "He?"

"Our mutual friend, Brigadier General." She crossed her legs at the knee and stared unblinkingly with that charismatic smile still in place. "He travels, sir, in a blue box that's bigger on the inside."

The Brigadier froze and his smile melted away to granite features any poker player would kill to have. "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean," and turned to walk behind his desk.

"Oh, but I think you do, Brigadier," she replied softly. "That wonderful, impossible man."

Without looking at her, he grabbed up his paperwork and rudely shuffled them. "I believe it's time you left, young lady."

She actually had the gall to laugh at him! "Nope!", popping the 'p' in a frustratingly endearing way, jerking her back into his field of vision.

"Pardon me?" He cocked an eyebrow at the possible threat and gave his most menacing glare.

She just smirked at him. "A drink, perhaps?"

A small pop and a snifter of brandy and tumbler weighted down his hands at the same time a glass of bracingly cold water filled her own. "Now. Back to the subject at hand. The Doctor."

Brigadier General Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart was shocked. That was rare. To catch him off guard, one must rise much earlier than even the worms. And this  _ girl _ had achieved just that.

The woman uncrossed her legs under her skirt and leaned forward, her glass disappearing in a swirl of gold. "Brigadier, I don't expect you to give away the man's location. Quite the opposite, really. You must never tell him  _ I _ was here." Her smile had vanished and the look she gave him bordered on pleading. "He hasn't met me yet, and you know why."

He placed the snifter and glass down carefully, pleased his hands were stable. "Because he's a time traveler."

Happiness flooded her face. "Yes. He is that."

"Do you travel with him in the future?"

That happiness was swiftly replaced with grief. "No, sir. Not anymore. That's why I'm here." She sat back again and sighed before pinching the bridge of her nose. 

"Is he in trouble?"

"What? Oh! No! No, not any more than he usually is for the moment." She waved a hand to shoo the idea away. "I'm here because I need your help." Her voice cracked and fears filled her eyes. She cut her gaze from his to the window.

He couldn't stand a woman to cry. Doris called him a softie and she was, as always, right. "Oh, my dear. Don't cry." He quickly moved to the front of his desk again, handing her a hankie.

She laughed gently and cleaned her face. "Thank you, sir. In my old age, I seem to be getting a bit maudlin."

"Are you one of his people?"

She laughed brightly then. "Oh,  _ god _ no! Those pompous brats? No, Brigadier. I'm no Time Lord. I protect the Doctor. I want him safe." She smiled wistfully at this. "Too much rides on his shoulders, Brigadier."

"So, what help can I be to a Time Lord's Champion?"

"You're his friend. He'll need that soon, and so much more. Actually, I have it on good authority you were more of a father to him than his own."

The Brigadier actually blushed at this. "Well… The Doctor is a… I mean… Well…"

She stood then and embraced him, and he froze at the unexpected affection before patting her back. She didn't release her hold on him, but instead spoke into his lapel.

"When he comes to you, and you'll know when it is, he'll need you more than ever." She pulled away and the sadness and grief radiating from her tied his stomach in knots. "He'll be so broken, Alistair. So lost and alone. Please, you  _ must _ help him."

He covered her hand, now fisted in his lapels, and simply held them. "Of course, my dear. Of course."

A weak smile, then, "Thank you, Alistair. Thank you." She pulled away completely, smoothed the wrinkled fabric and turned away, fading from sight in a dusty gold swirl.

Years later, his memory of that day hadn't faded one bit. He remembered going home that day and sitting in silence on the back patio with his wife, Doris. It took days for him to reconcile that his mysterious visitor had charged him with being parent to an alien so much older than he, but so young in many other ways.

It wasn't long before he told Doris of the encounter. She speculated the woman would one day be so much more to their friend than either could imagine. Both agreed they'd do no less than ensure the safety of their adopted son.

Many years later, on a cool English autumn night, the TARDIS wheezed into existence and the sound of the universe echoed around the fencing and flowers. Alistair chuckled at his old friend, knowing Doris would tear a strip off the Doctor's hide for landing in her flowers... again. 

When several minutes passed with no sign of the man, Alistair started to worry.

A few steps from the Doctor's ship, Alistair watched the doors creak open slowly and broad hands drag out the man attached to them. Alistair was no stranger to regeneration, but this new Doctor was unlike the others in every way.

Dressed all in black with close shaven hair, the Doctor resembled a soldier similar to many of Alistair's own former comrades. The black trousers tucked into black boots, thick belt, black jumper, and black combat jacket were tight on his large frame.

Most alarming was not the burn marks and dried blood dotting his clothing, but the tears streaking through soot-stained cheeks and the shattered soul peering from these new steel-blue eyes.

The Doctor took one step out of the TARDIS that Alistair now saw was scorched and smoking, both inside and out.

The Doctor opened his mouth once, twice, trying to remember how to speak. "Alistair." 

The deep Northern burr rumbled in his chest. He took one step forward, his eyes rolled back, and the Doctor fell forward in a slump.

Alistair caught the man and grunted under a more significant weight than he was expecting.

"Doris! DORIS!"

"Alistair? What in the world are you…. Oh my, God! What happened?" She came running to her husband, now all but pinned to the ground, to help shift her 'son'.

"I don't know Doris, but help me get him inside."

"Of course!"

Alistair jumped up and ran to the TARDIS. He could have sworn he heard weeping and groaning from the inside, but saw no one, so he closed the door respectfully, ran a hand across the front door, and said, "We've got him, dear. We've got him."

Later that evening, after some careful maneuvering, the Doctor was in the room they'd set aside for him years before but that he'd barely used. His fevered dreams – nightmares, really – had Doris sobbing in the kitchen, lost as to how to help him.

Alistair comforted his wife as best he could, then sent her to bed. Himself, he grabbed the newspaper from the den and planted himself at the Doctor's bedside, determined to be there when his old friend, his son, awoke.

Lost in his own thoughts, he completely missed the article on the fifth page:  _ Bad Wolf Stalks Outlying Villages? _


	4. Romana

**Paris. Earth, also known as Sol 3. 1979.**

Romana tapped her foot against the leg of the chair in front of the patisserie near the Champs-Elysees. 

The Doctor had run off… again. 

If the High Council knew what he was doing, they'd regenerate him faster than he could blink, and this time he wouldn't be allowed off Gallifrey until his last death. Then, they'd burn the body and jettison his remains into the Untempered Schism so there’d be no chance of re-looming the absolute nutter.

Although… The idea had merit...

Ugh! That idiot! 

They had better things to do than sit here on  _ Earth, _ of all places.

"I like Earth. It's nice here. Better than  _ some _ places, I'm sure." The voice that chimed in from her left startled Romana. Its owner hadn't been there a second before.

"And who, in Rassilon's name, do you think y…" Romana's voice trailed off as her sight traced the time lines swirling around the stranger. " _ What are you? _ " she whispered.

"Romanadvoratrelundar, you know better than to ask questions you have no business knowing the answer to just yet." The woman, blonde and dressed to Romana's polar opposite - black slacks, jumper, and matching thigh-length leather jacket - merely smirked and lifted her glass of wine to sip. "Mmmm. The French sure do know how to squish a grape."

She set the glass on the table between them then leaned forward to speak in a low tone, using perfect Old High Gallifreyan. "Listen closely, Gallifreyan. The Doctor will be called home soon. If you value your existence, don't be there. Old things, powerful things,  _ evil _ things are coming into play. This must be his fight."

Romana's gaze hardened to steel. She spoke between gritted teeth, "Are you  _ threatening _ me?"

The blonde sat back in her seat, blinked once before reaching for her wine again. "No, darling. Of course not." She gave a feral smile. "I'm saving your  _ life _ ."

She tossed back the rest of her wine, placed the glass on the table, and stood before adding, in English this time, "I think, no… I  _ hope _ that in another life, you and I, Romana, would have been great friends. Please. Be careful. Watch your back. Make sure you're in the right place at the right time."

She turned then, and walked away.

Romana watched in silent shock, and a little awe if she were honest with herself, as the woman walked away into the French sunset, vanishing with the last glow of dusk.

01100100 01101111 01100011 01110100 01101111 01110010 01110111 01101000 01101111

"I don't know what to do with that man, Leela. Things are getting so much worse now and he's off gallivanting around the universe like a stubborn child. How did you manage when you travelled with him?" Romana stood on the balcony of her chambers on Gallifrey, consumed with worry over her home, her people, her friends, and the coming darkness.

Leela walked out to join her, handing her friend the glass of water in her hand. "I didn't manage. I fought. Him and anyone else that was in my way." She shrugged. "Had I not, I would never have come to Gallifrey, never have met Andred, and I would be without my friend." She smiled at Romana through the ache of remembering her dead husband, but it faded at the world-weary look on the Lady President's face.

Romana sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Oh gods." Her voice was choked with tears. "I have to call him home, Leela. It's almost time, and I have to call him home."

Leela placed a bracing hand on her friend's arm. She'd seen more friends struck down by the Daleks and each time, she felt something in her soul harden. As bodyguard and confidante to the Lady President, she was privy to more than even the Celestial Intervention Agency could imagine. This plan, the Last Resort, had become the only hope to save everything. She was more than ready to die fighting, and she'd take down as many of those murdering bastard rubbish bins as she was able.

"Do it, my Lady. He, among all others, would be able to handle the task you set to him. He might be the only one truly capable."

Romana nodded, embraced her friend, wiped the tears from her face, and steeled herself to prepare to end Gallifrey.


	5. Five

**TARDIS. Time Vortex.**

She'd walked the halls of the TARDIS, communing with her oldest and closest friend, sharing memories and lifetimes of love and loss, planning and plotting, laughing together like maniacs. But some places she was more fond of than others, such as the reading nook her Doctor had built in the Library soon after he’d regenerated. They’d spent many an evening curled together in the mountain of cushions and blankets, reading together and telling stories, keeping the nightmares at bay.

She was so consumed with her thoughts, Rose never saw the Doctor perched in the doorway of said Library, watching and waiting. A thrum from the TARDIS alerted her to his presence, purposefully too late for Rose to transport away unnoticed.

"Hello, Doctor." She grinned sheepishly up at him from where she lay, splayed out on the carpet in front of the fireplace like an overgrown cat. The low flames provided enough heat at this distance to keep her nice and toasty without overheating. No matter what your state of living, sweating was never fun (without something fun to accompany it…)

Rose Tyler lived for the running, but hated – oh how she hated – exercising 'for her health'. Rubbish.

The Doctor watched this strange young woman giggling to herself, speaking in broken words and sentences, and rubbing the wall and floor of his ship. If he didn't know any better, he'd say she was talking to the TARDIS. No one but a Time Lord could communicate with a TARDIS, and he should know. He'd been bonded to his for centuries!

"I'd like very much to know who in Rassilon's name you  _ are, _ young lady, and exactly  _ how _ you came to be on board my ship!" His face reddened as his voice grew louder, ending on a shout. He winced then as the TARDIS prodded his mind sharply, reprimanding him for speaking that way to Her Cub.

Rose stroked the TARDIS floor in thanks, telling Her she'd handle the Doctor from there. She sat up, pulling her knees in close to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs.

"You know, you'll have to erase these memories when I leave. Or lock them away for the future." She cocked her head and laid it on her arms. "Not takin' any chances with  _ you _ , Doctor." Her tongue poked through her teeth cheekily.

He didn't know whether to be insulted she'd just implied he'd let something like a crossed timeline cause a paradox, infuriated at her familiarity of him, or entranced by all of the above. He was leaning very much to the latter until a thought occurred to him and he wagged a finger in her direction, much like a scolding teacher or grandfather. "Are  _ you _ the one that's been stalking me and my companions?"

She blinked up at him a little too innocently and pointed a slim finger to her chest. "Who? Me?"

He tossed his hands in the air - this time he was truly exasperated. "Yes, you! Of  _ course _ , you! Who else  _ could _ it be?" He rolled his eyes at her.

"Oh! Well, then yeah, tha' was me. Sorry 'bout that. Preservin' timelines and whatnot. You know how it is, Doctor." She loosed her grip on her legs, stood and stretched.

He had to admit, the little flash of skin across her midriff caused his hearts to skip for a moment before he could control himself. Who the hell was she?

She finished her stretch and leaned back against the wall, patting it affectionately. "Y’know, Doctor, s’been a while since I've seen you so wound up. Tea?" She shied around the far edge of the sofa that hadn’t existed a few hours prior and he scowled at her, wishing she’d simply get on with it!

No matter the face, all Doctors were her Doctor, and she loved him to bits. But a little caution would be best observed.

With a muted flash of light, the TARDIS manifested a tea service, piping hot with a fragrant blend of the Doctor's Favellarist Rooris – a bright red leaf that made a truly spectacular drink, if you liked the taste of licorice, honey, and apple blossom.

"Oh! Thanks, darling!" She called to the room, and, to the Doctor's eternal shock, received a bright jingle in response.

"But… How… I mean… You…  _ What! _ "

Rose almost exhaled hot tea through her nose at how similar he sounded just then to her 10th Doctor. Rose just laughed until her sides hurt."Oh god, I really, really,  _ really _ should know better than that."

Curious, and perhaps even a little insulted, the Doctor replied, "Than what?"

She sobered slowly, giggles still escaping every few moments. "Sorry, Doctor. It's just… been a while since I've been truly happy."

He frowned at this and crossed to take his tea. This girl should never have cause to be  _ un _ happy, and he told her so. She could only watch him as he sipped, smiled and "Mmmm"-ed his drink.

The Doctor looked back at his strange visitor and, now alarmed at her tears, put his cup down and reached for her hand. It fit perfectly in his, like a well-worn glove full of dozens of years of love. The sentiment caught him by surprise. Would the shocks never end?

"They never do, Doctor. Surprise round every corner." Rose bent her head to hide her face, now sobbing openly.

The Doctor drew her into his arms, holding her tightly and rocking her in comfort. Rose grasped handfuls of his jacket, not ever wanting to let go. He still smelled of tea, time, and that little bit of TARDIS grease that screamed 'Home'.

After a few minutes, the Doctor drew her around to the couch and sat with her, determined to get her story.

"Now, what's brought you here, so obviously out of your own time? And, if you're my companion, where am  _ I _ ?" He continued to hold her hand even after they turned to face each other.

Rose admitted she did travel with a future him, but refused to say which one. She admitted she could hear the TARDIS, but would not say how. She'd also said she was human (emphasis on 'was', but he didn't seem to catch that bit).

Hours passed as old friends became new friends, laughing and joking and making new memories to add to those to come.

Finally, exhausted by the emotional 'day' – because there was truly no day or night in the Time Vortex – Rose's eyes began to droop until she fell asleep in the middle of a sentence.

The Doctor watched her for several minutes, absolutely entranced by this girl. 

No. 

This  _ woman _ . 

Carefully, he stood, scooped her slight frame into his arms and left the Library to find her a more comfortable place to sleep. The TARDIS, in Her infinite wisdom, placed his own room directly across the hallway, and he paid no mind until he'd placed her in his bed. Then, realizing what She'd done, just scoffed and rolled his eyes.

He sighed again, then, mind made up, doffed his jacket and shoes, covered the girl with a comforter, and crawled into bed beside her to read. As soon as he'd settled in and propped his back against the headboard, the girl rolled over and curled into his side.

His hearts stilled. He'd give anything to know who she'd be to him.

The Doctor just watched her sleep, occasionally moving a tendril of hair from her sleeping face. Each time his skin met hers, she'd smile in her sleep. He reached for her hand and held it in his again, examining it as if it held the secrets to everything.

Then, not long after, the Doctor fell asleep next to Rose Tyler for the first time.

Rose woke ages later, feeling warm, comfortable, and fully rested, her mind at peace for once. Memories of the night before rushed back. 

Her Doctor.

He'd fallen asleep beside her. Giddy love welled inside her and she watched him sleep.

A snort and shift found Rose pinned as he rolled from his back to his side, facing her and throwing an arm over her waist to draw her flush against his front. He hummed deep in his throat and she just could not help herself.

She reached up slowly, placed a hand on his cheek, and pressed her lips to his. A sleepy sigh signaled he was awake, then a quickly inhaled gasp followed.

Oh  _ Rassilon _ , her lips were soft. He couldn't help it. His body had a mind of its own. He pulled her closer and kissed her deeper, tracing her lips with his tongue. A gasp had her mouth opening into his, allowing him to take advantage.

Well, not really. She gave just as good as she got and wow, did she give.

The Doctor rolled forward, pressing her to the mattress and settling one leg between hers. A deep groan ripped from her throat and hands were burrowed in his hair, clutching at his back, pulling him closer, closer.

The Doctor pulled back a fraction. "Precious girl," he murmured.

Rose's eyes glistened with unshed tears, hearing those same words spoken from memory in a deep Northern accent. She pulled his head back down to nip his bottom lip, but stopped him before it could go further.

"Doctor."

His lips moved from her mouth to her cheek, chin, jawline, and throat, pulling another gasp and groan from her at the sensation.

"Doctor."

"Hmm." He nibbled the soft skin of her earlobe before facing her again. "Yes, love?"

Rose choked on a sob and the Doctor pulled back, afraid he'd frightened her. Her frantic clutches may not have told him otherwise, but when she rolled him over and buried her face in his chest,  _ that  _ certainly settled him. He wrapped his arms around her again before whispering, "You have to leave, don't you." A statement, not a question.

She only nodded into him, clutching at his shirt and breathing him in.

"Right." He nodded to himself before looking down at her. "You sure?"

She laughed wetly before looking up. "Yeah. Can't have you goin' 'round with me before you meet me for the first time. Again."

He chuckled at her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

The couple laid there for a while longer before getting up and heading to the kitchen for breakfast and tea and conversation.

Finally, Rose couldn't put it off longer. "I have to leave, Doctor."

"No. Don't go."

She walked into his arms, kissed him fiercely.

"I know you have to forget, but I do need you to remember something."

His throat was tight. "What?"

She nuzzled his cheek before whispering. "It  _ does _ need saying, Doctor." She looked him in the eye, cupping his face in her hands. "I love you. Forever," and kissed him senseless. It didn't help his stuttering hearts that he'd stopped breathing moments ago.

She pulled back again, and he watched as her eyes flashed gold and she disappeared.

Grief ate at him until he felt the TARDIS nudging his mind and replaying the last thing his mystery woman had said.  _ "I love you. Forever." _

In Gallifreyan. 

Perfect Gallifreyan. Better than his own, really.

Shock over-wrote everything else and he ran for the console room.

Out of nowhere – Really nowhere. They were in the Vortex, for Rassilon's sake! – the TARDIS started to shake and roll. He stumbled for the control console and ran smack into someone.

"Sorry. S'cuse me." He froze and heard from the other side of the console. "What?"

It's not until much later he remembered to forget.


	6. Peri / Six

**TARDIS. Time Vortex.**

Peri laid in her bed on board the TARDIS, curled under the blankets and crying. Her voice was still hoarse and her throat bruised from the Doctor's attack.

She never would have expected such an action from someone she considered a friend and mentor.

The mattress dipped, heralding the presence of another. "Here." A cup of steaming honey tea appeared over her shoulder in the grasp of a delicate, feminine hand. Definitely not the Doctor then.

Peri took the tea carefully and slowly sat up, watching her strange visitor. Warm brownish-gold eyes watched her back, unblinking.

"Thank you," she rasped, and sipped, instantly soothing her raw throat with the beverage.

"He regrets his actions more than you know, Peri Brown."

Peri froze, straightened. "I know." Whispers were the best she could manage and she hated how weak it made her seem. Especially on top of a red, stuffy nose and eyes swollen from crying.

The woman reached out and placed a hand on Peri's as it covered the lip of her mug. "You are not weak. Don't ever think that. He wouldn't have you along if that were the case."

Peri's eyes grew wide and she shied away, but the other woman's light grasp on her hand kept her in place. She caught her breath as she watched brown eyes flash gold and swirl. All her worries and all the pain from her ravaged throat faded like mist in the morning sunlight.

Tired. So tired. Maybe a little nap. That would be nice. Then, later, she'd get the Doctor to take her somewhere beautiful. Maybe the planet with the diamond waterfalls he'd told her about. Twilight? Moonlight? Midnight? That was it. Midnight. That'd be lovely.

Peri's sighed, smiled, and cuddled back into her pillows.

Rose caught the mug before it could spill onto the sleeping girl, and set it on the nightstand beside the bed before leaning over to whisper in Peri's ear.

"Be strong, Perpugilliam Brown, and stand your ground. Be brilliant and never forget the Doctor would never purposefully do anything to harm you. He will protect you, dear one. Just as you must protect him." Rose sat back up and brushed hair from the girl's face. "Sleep well, darling. And in the morning, all this misery will be just a fading memory."

She sat in silence a few moments more before rising and exiting the room.

Rose walked for a short while, communing with the TARDIS and remembering, hoping, wishing it was time to go home. So many centuries alone was enough to drive a body mad. It's amazing the Doctor had managed so well, but he'd always had someone to lean on. His companions were his family. They kept him from truly stepping off the edge into the abyss of madness.

The TARDIS hummed to Rose, concerned over something she'd seen in Her pilot's future. 

Rose frowned. The Valeyard? 

Well, that just would not do. Not at all. "Don't worry, Sexy. We'll see to it he's cared for, won't we?" she murmured. Satisfied, the TARDIS jingled in Rose's mind, drawing a delighted laugh from Her Cub.

Rose made her way to the observatory, knowing she'd find the Doctor there. But when she walked in and found him curled up in a big, red, wingback chair, her heart broke at the dried tear tracks on his cheeks. Silently, she walked across the room, gathering up the throw blanket the TARDIS provided. She spread the blanket around his lap and up to his shoulders, tucking it gently around him.

She stilled when he whimpered and another tear made its way from clenched eyes. "Oh, Doctor." She brushed lank, blond curls from his forehead and pressed a kiss to it. He sighed and turned into the attention, still asleep, exhausted from regenerating through the spectrox poison. "I love you," she whispered. She kissed his cheek lightly before turning to leave.

The Doctor shifted restlessly, waking from his nap to find a blanket tucked around him. He only cocked an eyebrow at this, wondering how it had gotten there, but throwing a silent 'Thank you, darling' to the TARDIS before making his way to his own bedroom.

Maybe, if she hadn't had enough of him trying to kill her, Peri might consent to staying with him a while longer. Besides, one cannot be a hermit with a companion tagging along.


	7. Ace

**Earth, also known as Sol 3. Late 20th Century.**

Dorothy Gale McShane (call her 'Ace' or she'll drop kick your head off your shoulders) dropped the dishes into the sanitizer with a growl. She wanted to scream, but bit it back and, instead, envisioned stealing a ship just to have the pleasure of booting the arrogant swine at table fourteen out of the nearest airlock.

Sure, he was gorgeous: sky-blue eyes, black hair, squared jaw, and a smile hot enough to melt the pants off anyone it was aimed at. But why did the gorgeous ones have to be such arrogant, pig-headed, nutters?

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, plastered an obviously face smile on her face, and marched out to do her job. Waitressing didn't pay much but it got the bill collectors off her back, paid her rent, and most importantly, paid for the supplies she needed for her experiments.

The gorgeous mad man in the World War II greatcoat was gone, but the tip he left more than made up for the frustration of having to endure him undressing her with his eyes. She could get more gelignite now! 

Her excitement almost caused her to miss the pretty blonde sitting by the window, ignoring the menu, and watching the foot traffic outside.

Ace could've sworn she'd seen a strange happy-sadness in the woman's eyes as she watched Mr. Sexy Pants stride down the walkway as if he owned the place.

"What can I get for you, Sunshine?"

Rose's gaze was pulled from Jack's retreating form to the infamous Ace. She smiled up to the girl, "Water, please."

"Anything else? Food?" Ace cocked an eyebrow at the woman, now and forevermore dubbed 'Sunshine'. The British accent and sun-bright smile just cemented it.

Rose looked around and noticed she was the only patron for the moment. "Maybe some company, if you aren't too busy? Trying to catch up on recent events. I figure, you're a waitress, you know the ins and outs of what's going on in these parts."

Ace just shrugged, "Sure. Alright. Back in a minute."

Rose turned back to the window, lost in her own thoughts, so she jumped a bit when the water glass was thumped down in front of her and Ace settled herself in the seat opposite her.

"What's your name?" Glancing at the 'Dorothy' tag, "'Cause you  _ really _ don't look like a Dorothy."

Ace just threw her head back and laughed. "Yeah. It's Dorothy, but I go by Ace."

"Got it, Ace." Rose saluted her with her glass before sipping.

"So what's got you so far from home, Sunshine?"

"Not too far from home, really.  _ Looking  _ for home, to be honest. Got a way to go yet, I believe." Rose pinned her with a glance. "What about you? This all you do, waitressing?"

Ace looked a bit sad and turned her gaze out the window. "Nah. I  _ was _ in school, but I got expelled." She turned back to Rose with a smirk. "People tend to not like it much when you blow up the art room of your school and then try to claim it was a 'creative statement'."

It was Rose's turn to laugh. "Oh, I like you, Ace! So, now what? What do you like?"

Ace's entire countenance lit up like the fireworks in the night sky. Rose was briefly reminded of a long ago time when she and the Doctor visited the 2012 Olympics. Of course, it was never as easy as all that with the Doctor. Chloe Webber and the Isolus made it just another day in the life.

"Chemistry."

"Chemistry?"

"Chemistry! I love it! Making something new out of base elements and compounds and finding new ways of making things better. I'm good at explosives!"

Rose giggled. Ace looked like a child on Christmas morning that had gotten that pretty red bicycle she'd wanted so much. Like the world had just been handed to you on a silver platter.

"Well,  _ that _ is brilliant, Ace. Really, properly, fantastic!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, of course! Don't give up on it. It's a whole other world out there, just waiting to be discovered!"

"Wow." Ace was stunned. No one had ever really supported her 'mad hobby'. They just thought she'd end up killing herself or, god forbid, someone else. The incident at school just made things worse. Now, this perfect stranger was telling her to follow her dream. Become and do something amazing.

"Thanks, Sunshine."

"No problem, Ace."

The women smiled at each other in companionable silence for a moment, broken only by the sounds of traffic and people making their way through the day.

That evening, Ace made her way home after stopping at her supplier, gelignite clutched in her arms. Tonight. It was tonight. She just  _ knew _ it. Tonight would be the start.

The temporal storm that swept her away from Earth left no trace of the young girl. Her apartment and possessions remained through the investigations and inquiries. Her family and friends grieved at their loss.

Rose just smiled as she left the diner, knowing it was just the beginning for the spitfire girl.


	8. Eight

**Eye of Orion. 74th Century.**

He'd been called home.

Romana was good at hiding things from him, but the stress in her voice was unmistakable. And that worried him.

Something was coming. Something that would shake the foundations of the universe, no matter the outcome.

"You should go, you know."

"Yes. But I really don't want to." The Doctor kept his gaze trained on the night sky, letting himself feel the planet drift through space and silence while he still had a chance to do so. "I missed you."

Rose cocked an eyebrow at the daft alien she loved more than life, and wagged a finger in his face. " _ You _ were supposed to  _ forget _ , mister."

"Oh, I did. For a long time." The grin in his voice was plain. "There was a bit of… trouble... with this regeneration. Slightly more psychic than my other lives." He reached out to grasp her hand and pulled her flush to him. Rose gasped at the raw strength and possession he exuded. "But forget you? Forever? Not happening, my dear."

Rose smirked and ran a hand up the lapels of his velvet jacket, losing herself for a bit in his blue-green gaze. "Still the same Doctor," she murmured before brushing the curls from his face, stroking his cheek and cupping his neck.

They stood quietly for a moment just absorbing each other's presence.

"After you left, I met your Doctor."

Rose jerked back, eyes wide and shock evident. She hadn't seen  _ that _ coming! And… did he sound  _ jealous _ ? Of  _ himself _ ? Well, that wasn't too hard to see, especially since her spikey-haired, brown-eyed Doctor always got into a pout whenever she mentioned "Ol' Big Ears", as the Doctor dubbed his previous form.

"How…" She swallowed around a dry lump in her throat. "How was he?"

"Simply manic."

The grin that followed, soft and lovely, lifted a weight off her shoulders. She wrapped her arms around his neck and sniffed back a few tears. "I miss you, so  _ so  _ much."

His arms tightened around her, a fresh round of sobs breaking through. "How long…?" How long had he been without her, had she been without him?

"Far too long." She dried her face, then, "Way too long," and dragged him down, pressing their lips together is a fierce snog and practically falling over and dragging each other down to the ground, rolling in the deep blue grass.

Hands and arms, lips and tongues, cries of frustration that quickly melted to satisfaction and completion as their passion filled the air.

Later, he held her close, her head curled up on his chest with one hand placed gently between his hearts. They were thumping madly, betraying his cool demeanor. Rose took it as a matter of pride that she could make the great Doctor lose control like that.

"I'll have to forget the most wonderful thing in my life. This. Here, now. With you. And it's not fair." He rolled to his side, propping his head on his hand. "And for how long?" He stroked the back of his hand down her cheek, softly caressing her jaw, then down to the top of her breast, feeling her warmth and softness. "I love you and I don't even know your name."

Rose swore she'd felt her heart stop at those whispered words and couldn't have prevented herself from responding even if the universe disintegrated around them. "I love you, too."

He closed his eyes as if savoring the way the words wrapped around his hearts, his mind, his soul, before sighing and resting his forehead on hers. "I've been called home." 

This time, her heart did stop. Pure, unadulterated fear ripped into her as her grip banded like steel on his wrists.

"You know what's coming, don't you?"

She could only nod, clenching her eyes shut and trying to breathe around the scream building in her throat.

"How bad?"

Rose shook her head. "I can't…"

"I know, darling, I‘m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked." He pressed a kiss to her temple, then tilted her chin up to encourage her to look at him.

Golden swirls danced in her eyes, making her tears glow brilliantly. "This time,  _ you _ need to go. It's almost time."

The couple parted, dressed, then moved hand-in-hand toward the TARDIS parked nearby under a tree. Rose stopped him a few feet away, holding his hand and stroking the skin over the knuckles.

"Doctor. I can't tell you it'll be easy. It won't be. It’ll be the hardest thing you’ve ever done in all your long life. But, remember to do what you think is  _ right _ . And be safe. Please.  _ Be safe _ ."

The Doctor watched her. This beautiful creature, full of enough power to rip Time apart at the seams, loved him. And now  _ she _ was begging  _ him _ to be safe? Dread rippled down his spine and he pulled her close again, cupping her cheek to draw her gaze to his.

"I promise. Besides, I have to find you again, don't I?" His soft, bright smile belied the tension that had started building.

She returned his smile with a soft, "Yeah. Yeah, y’do."

He had to forget again. A little too well.

The Doctor returned to Gallifrey, but not to become Lord President again – Romana was doing a splendid job, and why would he want a job that would keep him chained to home? Instead, he fought.

He watched his friends and family die.

He watched Pan Gallifreya fall.

Then, he watch Gallifrey burn.

Romana was right. Only he could have used The Moment, initiated the Time Lock, destroyed his people, his home, everything. Only his TARDIS, the last Type 40 TARDIS in existence could handle, manipulate, and channel the surge of power released when the Eye of Harmony erupted with the destruction of the Untempered Schism.

The screams of his people rang in his mind, begging, pleading, cursing, weeping. He could have sworn he heard Romana's voice, ringing loudest for a split second. " _ Thank you. My friend. _ " And then she was gone.

His mind was on fire. Blood vessels burst in his eyes from the force of his screams against such unimaginable pain.

The TARDIS was rocked with explosions, the largest of which caught him in the back and threw him into the wall. Blessed darkness then.

He should have died. He wanted to die. But a sweet, musical voice whispered in his ear, in perfect Gallifreyan, "Live, Doctor.  _ Live _ ," and the fires of regeneration engulfed him. He tried to stop it, he really really did, but he'd been injured so much already, his control was shot. He could only lay there, waiting for it to end.

The TARDIS has been damaged so much, it took almost all of Her power just to materialize.  _ Somewheresafesomewheresafe _ Her own internal systems were damaged beyond the Doctor's ability to repair. Her pilot's humans would help. They had to!

The Doctor woke to his precious ship burning and smoking and sparking. She'd landed. Only one way to find out where.

He pulled himself up, barely holding onto consciousness, and dragged himself to the door. Oh, you fantastic thing, you! The one person he could trust.

His voice locked in his throat for a moment after he opened his new mouth.  _ Still weird. _ The strength it took to croak out, "Alistair," and the shock of such a deep Northern burr coming from his new self was the last straw. Blackness finally took him away.


	9. Chapter 9

**R.M.S. Titanic. North Atlantic Ocean. Earth, also known as Sol 3. April 14th, 1912. 8:47 p.m.**

Rose could've killed him. 

Really, properly killed him. 

That…  _ idiot _ ! 

And the worst part? He  _ wanted  _ to die. Oh, he'd never do something so cowardly as commit suicide, but dying on an 'adventure' – even if you already know the ending, which is  _ cheating,  _ by the way – well  _ that's _ alright then.

She ground her teeth and growled in her chest. She couldn't blame the TARDIS for being so upset. That's why she'd been called here in the first place. To talk some sense into Her pilot and make him stop being such a ninny.

Rose pulled her cloak up further around her head, ensuring no sign of her identity could be made out in the upper deck's dim lighting. The late hours of the night allowed almost complete privacy for the beating she so desperately wanted to hand out.

Black leather-clad shoulders slumped forward over arms braced on the deck railing gave the impression of a man enjoying the view of the nighttime ocean. Rose knew better, but now was not the time.

She pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulders, dipped her head, and turned away from the Doctor with the barest swish of cloth in the air. Now, she needed to find Home.

In the deepest part of the cargo hold, furthest from the bow of the ship, the TARDIS waited. She still hurt from the loss of Her kind, ached at the deep pit of self-loathing Her pilot was drowning himself in, from the shared loss of everything they had known. So, when She saw the bright spark on the edge of Her consciousness, tendrils of power reached out to hold it close.

As Rose laid a hand against the door of the magnificent ship, the warm rumbles welcomed her after so long gone and not yet there. Rose felt the fresh burns across their shared psyche and instinctively soothed the ancient machine before opening the doors and entering.

She tossed her cloak over the coral strut her Doctor was so fond of tossing his trench coat over –  _ Did he not realize there was a coat tree right next to the door? _

_ Hello, Darling.  _ Speaking directly to the heart of the TARDIS had come so easy to Rose after Satellite 5. The pair had been known to have their "Girl Time" most often when the Doctor thought Rose was sleeping. Had he scanned her at least once after he regenerated, he'd have realized what They'd done.

_ My cub. _

"He'll meet me soon."

_ Yes. _

"I miss him. I miss him so much."

_ I know. _

"He wants to die."

_ Yes.  _ The fear, grief, sadness, and sympathy in that one word brought Rose to her knees. She could only cover her mouth and sob. "I wish I could take this burden for him. For both of you."

_ It will be better soon. You'll bring his back from the precipice without even knowing. I'll be with you. _

Rose stroked the console as she maneuvered herself up, an idea forming. "He needs to rest, doesn't he?"

Amused rumbles from the walls accompanied a simple  _ Yes. _

The corner of her mouth quirked up in mischief. "Help?"

A bright flash of light and Rose's plans were cemented. "Thanks, dear." A light stroke of the time rotor and "I love you. I'll see you soon."

Warm waves of love and a new sense of hope followed Rose out the door. Hope was good. They liked hope.

Back up on the deck, The Doctor's gaze never wavered from the horizon. He knew it was out there. The massive chunk of dirty, frozen water. And it was just waiting for its inevitable meeting less than three hours from that moment.

His thoughts were interrupted by a quiet voice at his back. "Cold out here." Maybe if he ignored her, she'd go away and let him die in peace. He scoffed to himself.  _ Peace _ .

A steaming hot cup of perfectly made tea appeared in front of his face. He watched it like a poisonous snake about strike.

Rose's cloak concealed her form and her scarf muffled her voice. "It's alright. Just tea. It'll warm you up. You've got to be freezing out here."

He took it slowly before turning to face his visitor. "You make a habit of approaching strange men at night?" His sneer would have torn at her heart if she knew he meant it. Luckily, even his 'superior Time Lord biology' missed her quick "Only you."

She straightened sharply, adopting an attitude as if offended by his very existence, and with a quick "Well, then. Enjoy your tea and the rest of your evening. Have a fantastic life!" she turned and marched away, head held high.

The Doctor sighed as his mysterious benefactor walked away. He didn't have to be snarky, but it came so easy in this body. He should have called out to her and apologized, but she'd already disappeared into the shadows. It was nice though, to have someone think about his well-being for once. Well, someone other than his ship.

The Doctor raised his cup and downed the quickly cooling tea in one long gulp before turning back to the railing. He barely noticed when his field of vision wavered from the horizon to the waves breaking against the hull. But when he slumped forward over the rail, lost his balance, and slid backward onto the deck, he could have sworn he heard a feminine snort and chuckle.

Rose watched the Doctor fall back in a very unmanly flop, and winced just a bit when his head bounced on the wooden deck.

_ Darling, would you mind? I don't think I can haul his Lordship all the way down to you. _

A light jingle preceded the sound of the Universe breathing Life into Nothingness as it formed around the Doctor's body. Rose laughed when she heard a thump from inside the great ship.

_ He'll have quite the headache in the morning, dear. _

The TARDIS chimed to Rose.  _ If he gets too snippy, I'll toss him out onto one of the smaller icebergs until he cools off. _

Rose chuckled to herself again as she entered, and knelt over the Doctor's still form. "Hello, my Doctor." 

She stroked his forehead, smoothing the worry lines away, then cupping his cheek and taking in the face of her first Doctor. "I miss you so much," she murmured. "Please don't let the darkness take over, love. You fight it, you hear me? You fight and you live and you find me." She leaned down and whispered in his ear. "Find me, Doctor." She kissed the corner of his mouth before placing a soft, lingering one on his lips. "Good-bye for now."

As Rose Tyler – Bad Wolf, the Valiant Child – disappeared, the TARDIS did as well, following a strange signal.

Nestene Consciousness.

London. England. Earth. The solar system on the outer spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy.

Early 21st Century.

Why not?


	10. Nine / Rose

**TARDIS. Time Vortex. (But also, December, 2005)**

A successful attempt at arson always put the Doctor in a goofy mood. Especially when he'd just barely managed to keep from blowing himself up.

He'd sorted the Nestene Consciousness, saved Earth (again), and even managed to meet another intriguing human. Brave one, that girl, swinging on a rusty chain to save the life of an alien she'd just met.

Could be worse.

And then, it was.

She'd turned down his offer to come with him and he really didn't blame her. Not everyone dealt well with risking their life on a daily basis, but he'd thought… Well, it didn't matter what he thought. Rose Tyler was back home with her mum and boyfriend, eating chips, watching telly, and sleeping away her short, human life.

What a waste. She could've been fantastic.

He'd only been gone from London a few days and had spent his time recalibrating the thermal buffers and astrosextant rectifier. Secondary power rerouted to telepathic circuits and the artron mainframe might help with the temporal drift he'd noticed lately.

The TARDIS was perfectly happy with Her psycho-telemetric circuits, thank you very much, and did not appreciate his 'tinkering'. A quick shock let him know quite quickly, he should stop what he was doing immediately.

It didn't help things one bit that the 'little jolt' meant he gave himself a concussion jerking away.

"Fine! Have it your way! But when your helmic regulator craps out, it won't be my fault!"

The TARDIS jingled laughter in his head as he stomped grumbling from the room to clean the oil from his hands.

He just couldn’t understand. Not that he  _ wanted _ her to come along, but she was quick and it wouldn't hurt to have someone to show the Universe, even if it was just a "Thank You" for saving his life… And  _ why _ was she still plaguing him?

She'd said no. Leave it and go find something else to occupy your time. Plenty of it just lying about the place…

The Doctor finished cleaning himself up, changed his jumper, and walked from his room. Maybe a quick jaunt to the Horsehead Nebula to see how things…  _ What the hell was that? _

He froze in his tracks facing the console. A note. Taped to the monitor. That he hadn't put there.

Instincts and reflexes not long forgotten had him pulling his sonic from his pocket to scan for intruders. Steel blue eyes narrowed in concentration as he allowed his still-bruised psyche to flare out and tap into the time path indicator, searching for any discrepancies in his ship. Through the TARDIS' protective shielding, he searched further, noting the curves and positions of different timelines. 

No other crafts. No meddling Eternals.

He was still alone.

Still wary, he pocketed the sonic and ripped the note from the console. Confusion warred with a little shock at the flowing feminie script before he looked to his ship, holding the note outstretched to thin air.

"You?"

A negative hum in his head.

"Then what…? Oh." The Doctor grinned to himself, tucked the note away in his coat pocket, and pulled up the flight path tracker to enter the return coordinates.

A quick hop, skip, and a jump, and the TARDIS was hurtling through time and space to re-materialize only seconds after Her last departure.

The Doctor ran down the ramp, jerked open the doors, and poked his head out to see (Oh, good!), Rose still standing in the alley he'd just left seconds/days before. He grinned at her, stretching muscles he hadn't used in what felt like lifetimes.

"Did I mention it also travels in time?"

Rose Tyler joined the Doctor for the first time and he just  _ knew: _ It was going to be  _ fantastic! _


	11. Ten (1913)

**Farringham School for Boys. Herefordshire, England. Earth, also known as Sol 3. 1913**

He hadn't looked so peaceful in all the time she'd known him. Even after regenerating from his previous form, he'd still held the weight of the Universe on his shoulders as he recovered in her mum's flat.

Now, he slept. Every night. He still dreamed but the nightmares that plagued his Time Lord self were so muted, he considered them merely figments of his overactive imagination.

Softly, Rose approached his bedside and tugged the blanket from the foot of the bed and over him. 'Even now, you can't be still,' she thought. Carefully, as to not wake him, she brushed unruly bangs from his face and pressed a soft kiss to his temple.

'Be careful, Doctor.'

Just as quietly as she entered, Rose left the room, completely missing Professor John Smith's whispered, 'Rose...'.

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Timothy Latimer was terrified.

In the weeks since Professor Smith had come to Farringham, Tim had been bombarded with such horrible visions, and at times he felt as if his dreams had followed him into the waking world.

The only consolation through this whole ordeal was the rare sense of peace he felt emanating from the fob watch he'd stolen from the Professor just days before. These feelings were often accompanied by bright flashes of pink and gold, and a song so beautiful it brought tears to his eyes.

Unfortunately, these tears had garnered a beating from Baines the first night he'd had the watch.

Now, these... these THINGS had taken over Baines, Jenny the maid, Mr. Clark, and Lucy Cartwright. And then they'd KILLED someone! 

Oh, his head was killing him and this ... STUPID watch! It wouldn't stop whispering to him, urging him on.

Tim had seen the Doctor in flashes of bright light, seen worlds pass before his eyes in fire and ice, felt the turn of the Earth beneath his feet, and he trembled in awe.

If this is what Professor Smith had been before Farringham, it was no wonder he ran.

"He didn't run for that reason, Tim."

Soft though the voice may have been, it still frightened him enough that, as he whirled around, his heart started galloping in his chest. He thrust his hand behind him to hide the fob watch and searched the shadows for his watcher.

"It's alright, Tim. I promise. I'm only here to help." The woman walked from the shadows with barely a sound. Strangely, her smile calmed and comforted him, and for the first time in what felt like forever, the watch was silent.

"May I see it?" She held out her hand, careful not to spook the boy.

Tim flinched away at first, then jumped at the whisper through his mind, ' _ Rose _ .' His eyes widened almost comically and he whipped his fist in front of him, gaze shooting from the watch to the girl.

"You're her. You're Rose."

Well, now, she wasn't expecting that. She dropped her hand and waited. "Yeah, Tim, I'm Rose. Rose Tyler."

Tim couldn't take his eyes off of her. This woman had followed the Doctor to the ends of the Earth and loved him regardless of what he'd done. He held his clenched fist to his chest. "He talks to me, sometimes. In whispers."

"What does he say?"

"To hide. To keep him safe. To run."

Rose laughed low to herself. "Yeah, he does that a lot."

"What do I do, Rose?" He held the watch out to her, his hand shaking a bit as she took the fob watch from him.

"Oh, Tim. You've done so much already, you brave boy. It's almost done though. Just one more thing, and it's done."

Tim nodded silently and swallowed around the huge lump in his throat.

He'd always known he was different. His mum called him 'sensitive to God's words', but Tim had a hard time believing He would put such horrible things in his head. Now? Well, maybe it had been preparing him for this all along.

He watched Rose cradle the fob watch in her hands and bring it to her chest, gripping it tightly. A small smile graced her lips as she raised the warm metal to place a kiss on the cover. Had he been listening any harder, Timothy Latimer would have heard 'I love you' whispered in a glowing, golden, musical language.

Rose breathed deeply and infused herself with a bit more steel, preparing herself to do what was needed. She handed the watch back to a stunned Tim Latimer and grasped his other hand in her own.

"You'll find him in the Cartwright's home down the lane. Do you know where it is?"

Tim nodded. He couldn't have spoken if he tried.

"Then go, quickly, and give this to Martha. She'll know what to do."

"What about you? Don't you want to see him? He misses you so much!"

Rose gave him a small smile. "Of course, I want to see him, but I can't. It's not Time yet." She prodded him along and pointed the way. "Quick now. He needs you."

Tim nodded, pocketed the watch, and turned to go just as she called to him again.

"Oh, and Tim?"

"Yeah?"

"Run!" The word echoed in his ears at Rose's words and in his mind from the fob watch he carried.

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Many years later, Tim Latimer sat in his wheelchair, remembering the boys he'd gone to war with, the men he'd come home with, and the friends he'd lost in the interim.

The Remembrance Day prayer warmed his heart, but not so much as the sight of the Doctor and Martha Jones on the edge of the garden at the memorial site. They stayed for the entire ceremony. Then, with smiles and waves, disappeared.

"You did good, Tim." A young woman stood beside him, poppy flower adorning the light blue button-up shirt she sported. She laid a hand on his shoulder and leaned down to kiss him on the cheek. "You were fantastic."

He smiled up at her with tears in his eyes. "Thank you, Rose."

The pair sat in the darkening memorial for hours that day, remembering those that had come and gone, and those that would follow in their footsteps. Not a word was spoken, but none was really needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In Flanders Fields  
> BY JOHN MCCRAE
> 
> In Flanders fields the poppies blow  
> Between the crosses, row on row,  
>  That mark our place; and in the sky  
>  The larks, still bravely singing, fly  
> Scarce heard amid the guns below.
> 
> We are the Dead. Short days ago  
> We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,  
>  Loved and were loved, and now we lie,  
>  In Flanders fields.
> 
> Take up our quarrel with the foe:  
> To you from failing hands we throw  
>  The torch; be yours to hold it high.  
>  If ye break faith with us who die  
> We shall not sleep, though poppies grow  
>  In Flanders fields.


	12. Jack

**Rydia. Lupus Constellation. 21st Century, Earth time.**

Captain Jack Harkness was drunk. 

Not just drunk. Completely pissed. 

So pissed that he was able to forget for a moment. Forget the loss. The pain. The deaths. 

He raised the glass of triple-distilled hypervodka and slugged it down, feeling the smooth burn rip through him.

He was so pissed, he didn't even bother to flirt with the gorgeous blonde that pulled up the stool next to his at the bar.

Funny little place, D'Oro Dea. Hidden away, tucked behind the wolf sanctuary the humans had built on Rydia decades before. It serviced many travelers but was uncharacteristically empty tonight.

Was it still night?

Jack sighed into his drink and motioned for another.

When the bartender set down a cup of steaming hot coffee in front of Jack, the Immortal just stared at it as tears flowed unchecked and unrealized. A soft arm wrapped around his waist and pulled him into the warm embrace of his female neighbor.

Captain Jack Harkness broke.

His arms shot around her middle and he crumbled. It was too much. Too much for anyone to bear. And since he couldn't die, he would learn to forget as best he could. Even if it meant crawling into drugs and alcohol for the next few centuries just to make it hurt less.

"Oh, my Jack," the woman cooed to him. The sweet smell of vanilla, honey, and roses mixed with the distinct essence of time that swirled around her and brought him out of his misery long enough to pull back and focus on her face.

He felt his heart stop, and all the blood in his body pool at his feet. "Rose…"

She smiled sweetly at him. "Hello, Jack."

"Oh, god, Rose. Rose!" Now completely sober – and wasn't that a waste of perfectly good alcohol – he swept the petite blonde into his arms, twirled her around in joy, then cupped her face and kissed her with all the love he felt.

Almost a full minute later, he pulled away so both could gasp in some much needed oxygen.

"Rose. How…? I thought..? You're supposed to be in Pete's World with the human Doctor!" He grasped her upper arms tightly. "Is it happening again? The stars?"

Rose reached up and held Jack's arms, feeling his fear mounting. "No, no, no, Jack. That's over and done with. It's been much, much longer for me than you think. John – that's what he called himself – he died a long time ago."

"Oh, Rosie. I'm so sorry." He pulled her in again for another hug, this time both consoling each other.

This time Rose pulled back before reaching for his hand. "Let's sit, Jack. We have loads to talk about."

The bartender appeared at the booth with a steaming tea service for Rose and Jack, telling them to just call out if they needed anything.

Rose's hold on Jack's hand tightened. "I'm so sorry about Steven and Ianto, Jack. I wish I could've been there for you."

Tears pricked his eyes but he swallowed it down as he nodded and kissed her knuckles in gratitude. "You're here now. That's all that matters." A dark eyebrow arched at her. "Does the Doctor know you're back? I imagine he wouldn't be far off if he knew. You two were so cute!" Echoes of words once spoken during a World War II air strike made both creatures smile.

"Nah. He's off gallivanting around the universe, as usual. But he'll know soon. Things have to happen first. Timelines and all that." She waved a hand, shooing away the thought.

Jack grinned, the first real smile he'd felt like plastering on his millenia-old face in what felt like lifetimes. "You sound like him now," and punctuated the thought with a pointed finger.

Rose just laughed. "I suppose I do!"

Jack sat back, absorbing this new Rose Tyler. Still the blonde-haired, brown-eyed beauty he loved so much, but clearly different. Her voice held a smoother, richer London accent than the estate girl he once knew. Her movements were so graceful as she lifted the tea to sip, it seemed like the air around her barely rippled.

In short, he was awe-struck.

"What happened, Rose?" His whispered words cut through her like a knife and she barely hid the wince they caused.

"All those years ago, Jack – well, for me at least – they've gone by so slowly sometimes. Others? I could've sworn they passed in a blink." She set her cup down and toyed with the rim and handle. "After the Doctor left us in Pete's World again, I was so angry for such a long time. John had done nothing wrong, but he was  _ there _ , looking the same, acting so much like  _ him _ . Even the memories of everything we did and saw seemed like they were mocking me from the past."

She sighed and looked away, losing herself in the memories. "We both worked at Torchwood in Pete's World, and we did a lot of good, Jack. A  _ lot _ of good. Then, about four years after we'd been dropped off, there was an accident in John's lab. Some little idiot was playing around when he shouldn't have been and there was an explosion. Thankfully, no one was killed, but John was hurt. Badly."

She raised her gaze and Jack saw the grief, still so powerful. "He'd been thrown into one of the lab tables so hard it broke his back. No more running for the Doctor, Jack. Can you imagine?" Her mirthless chuckle prompted him to reach for her and draw her close. He placed his arm around her shoulders and she leaned her head leaned into his chest. They looked every bit the loving young couple to anyone that didn't know them.

"He refused to believe it for a long time. And,  _ god _ , the arguments he and the medical doctors got into! Like World War Three it was. I swear mum had  _ nothing _ on John when it came to these blokes!" Jack chuckled just at the thought.

"After a while, depression really kicked in. He tried to push me away for a long time, Jack. He thought I’d want nothing to do with him since he couldn't walk anymore, let alone run. But I fixed that really quickly." Rose smirked to herself, remembering.

Intrigued, Jack pulled away enough that he could look down at her. "And how, pray tell, did you manage that?"

Wide-eyed and innocent, she answered, "Why, Jack, I seduced him!" She grinned and patted his leg as he roared in laughter. "You would've been proud!"

He managed to wipe the tears from his cheeks, and gasp in breaths he desperately needed if the light-headedness was any indication. "Oh, to have been a fly on the wall!" Jack tittered for a moment. "I'm guessing you were successful?"

"Oh, of course, darling! As if he stood a chance." She pshawed the idea away as if offended before brightening. "It didn't take long for him to see I wasn't leaving him, nor was I staying with him just because he looked like the Doctor. John was… different. That little bit of Donna in him gave him more attitude than he really needed, but in a good way."

Her face softened at memories she'd kept locked away for so long as she gazed down at her bare left hand, stroking the ring finger. "We were married six months later, and two years after that, Lydia was born."

Jack was amazed. "You're a mom?"

Rose nodded, smiling, and pulled a slim, black leather, bigger-on-the-inside card case from her pocket. "Mum of three, actually. Wanna see?"

Jack could only nod and accept the pictures she handed him.

The first was of a beautiful brown-haired and blue-eyed little girl, about eight years old, with her hair pulled into two low pigtails. She was riding on her father's lap as they wheeled around on a basketball court. Both faces were wide with smiles and laughter, and Lydia's arms were thrown in the air in glee. Jack could  _ very _ easily see both John and Rose in the girl.

Next, an obviously exhausted Rose held a small bundle while John sat beside her holding another. Both had ecstatic, glowing grins. The picture had obviously been taken from the hospital doorway and showed Lydia crouched on the bed looking down at the babies and holding one twins hand in each of her own.

Rose pointed to the child she held, "That's Alex," then to the other twin, "and that's Ian. Lydia was nine when they were born. Identical twins." She stroked her finger down the picture and handed Jack the final snapshot.

This one showed a much-aged John in his wheelchair, parked next to the control panel of a TARDIS with a still-young Rose perched on his lap. Their children all leaned against the console in various poses: Alex, crazy blond hair and green eyes, heavily-muscled arms crossed over his chest and dressed very much like Rose and Jack's first Doctor. Ian's own blond hair was styled closely to Jack's own hairstyle, but the jeans, button-up shirt, and blazer completed his own ensemble, while he kept his arm around his sister.

Lydia took Jack's breath away. He knew she was going to be beautiful, but wow! She perched on the edge of the console in a bright purple sundress, legs crossed at the knee and one kid slipper dangling from her toes. She'd propped her arms on both of her brothers’ shoulders and was leaning into Alex's back.

Every single one of the people in this picture were the epitome of the happy family.

"John died not long after that." Rose's soft declaration jerked his eyes to her face. "He and Ian were on the way to Torchwood to pick up something for the TARDIS and were hit by a drunk driver. John died instantly. Ian…" She sucked in a deep, shuddering breath before continuing. "I almost lost my baby, Jack."

Jack pulled her in close again and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"Ian regenerated."

Jack froze as she pulled the picture from his hand and put them away, wiped her face and sipped her tea.

"He was angry for a long time, but not because he regenerated. We knew it was extremely likely and had prepared the kids years before. No, he was mad at John because John insisted on driving that day. Ian was convinced for a long time that, had he been driving, his father would have lived." She sipped her tea again. "It took a long long time, but he accepted it. Especially when Alex kept pestering him saying how it wasn't fair Ian got to regenerate first." Rose chuckled. "They loved being twins!"

"Where are they now?" Jack almost feared her answer. He hoped Rose hadn't been alone all the time she'd been back in her original universe, but her smile settled him.

"They're out running around here somewhere. Alex regenerated not long ago, and now they're off looking for something or another." She checked her wrist unit and frowned. "They should be here any…"

The door to the bar burst open and a young man that looked strikingly like the Doctor Jack remembered came dashing in, Lydia hot on his heels. "Mum! We gotta go! Now!" He waved frantically in her direction, white t-shirt ripped and burned where it met black leather trousers.

Rose shot up from her seat. "Where's Ian?"

Lydia, wearing black trousers similar to her brother's, had what looked like a utility belt/gun holster loose on her hips. A black leather jacket zipped to her throat and matching high-heeled boots both strained under the pressure of holding the bar door closed. "Guards got him, mum. He's unconscious last I saw him."

Rose rushed to her children. "Time to go then!"

Jack watched, intrigued, and – yes – a little jealous as Rose punched in commands on what he now realized was a smaller version of his own vortex manipulator. So, when she turned to him with a brow arched and a quick, "Coming?" a grin exploded on his face and he jumped across the table.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world!"

She grinned up at him, finished entering coordinates, and linked her arm with his, then called out to Lydia. "Let's go, Lyds!"

A split second later, Lydia's hand was in Alex's, Alex had grabbed Rose's shoulder, and Rose mashed the control button that transported the group away.

Hours later, Jack and Rose sat in the library of her TARDIS. Both slept curled into each other on the couch where they'd spent hours catching up.

They'd rescued Ian quickly and gotten him back to the TARDIS without a shot being fired. Of course, the fact that Rose had started glowing as the TARDIS doors opened – all on their own – then frozen everyone else in the building in place? It made things so much easier. They walked right past each gun barrel and crouched guard until Rose had found Ian in a cell, strapped to a table, and still unconscious.

She'd dissolved the door to the cell, then did the same to the straps holding her son down. Jack had picked the boy up and followed Rose back to her TARDIS.

As she stood in the doorway, she raised her hand and turned the gun in each guard's hand to golden dust before allowing them the opportunity to move again. But no one dared.

"You took my child. You would have killed him." Her voice growled in her chest and the golden tendrils of light streamed from her eyes as she bared her teeth. "You will  _ never _ touch my children again."

Rose turned to enter the TARDIS and Jack watched as the walls of the building turned to dust around its inhabitants. The light faded from her eyes as she closed the doors, walked to where Jack held Ian, then kissed her son's head and transported him to his room.

"He'll be fine. He just needs to rest," and jumped the TARDIS into the Time Vortex without touching the control console.

Jack stood there in shock, mouth agape. Alex took advantage of the moment and, grinning, walked up to Jack, and shook his hand. "Hiya! My name's Alex. Alex Noble. Nice to finally meet you, Uncle Jack!" Turning, he pressed a kiss to his mother's cheek, and sauntered from the room, waving and calling out, “G’night all!”

Lydia just shook her head at her brother, hugged her mother and called out, "Night, mum! Night, Uncle Jack!", before following Alex to their respective quarters.

Jack still stood there, occasionally blinking slowly.

Rose, in a move similar to Lydia's, rolled her eyes and dragged Jack away for a – very likely – much needed drink. "C'mon, Jack. My treat."


	13. Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Set between Waters of Mars and End of Time)

**London. England. Earth, also known as Sol 3. Early 1990s.**

The Doctor sat on a bench near the Powell Estate watching a young Rose Tyler playing with a young Mickey Smith. Rose chased Mickey around the playground, squealing with laughter before shooting for the swings.

He watched her swing higher and higher. Always reaching for the stars that one, and he'd be the one to give them to her in spades.

It had been a little over six months since he'd left Rose and his human duplicate on Pete's World.

It had almost killed him to watch his clone whisper  _ those words _ into Rose's ear. The same words that burned on the tip of his tongue since before he’d regenerated into this body. He'd wanted so badly to be the one to tell her he loved her, to hold her close, to feel her kiss burn its way into his soul as he was sure the other had felt.

He ducked his head, trying to swallow around the lump in his throat.

"Hi." A shy, sweet voice jerked him from his thoughts and brought his attention to the little girl standing a few feet from him. "Are you sad?"

"A little, sweetheart. A little." He smiled softly at her.

"Oh." Her little face scrunched up, crinkling her nose in the same way her older self would do, then beamed at him. "Be right back!" and ran off.

"You shouldn't be here, you know."

The Doctor stiffened at the sound of the voice that appeared next to him on the bench. He didn't have to look to know the being sitting next to him was and was not Rose Tyler.

Bad Wolf.

"Neither should you," he growled out through gritted teeth.

"I know."

"So what do you want now?"

"You're going to die soon, my Doctor." Sadness in her inflection made him wince.

"I know. I've been told."

"What will you do about it?"

He arched his brow at her and continued to watch her younger form dart across the grass. "Do? I don't plan on  _ doing _ anything, except  _ not _ dying."

"Good."

He said nothing for a moment and silence reigned as Young Rose ran back to him, panting and holding a bunch of flowers in her small fist. "Here! These are for you so you can't be sad anymore!"

Her bright smile and innocent gift made his hearts clutch as he took the flowers. "Thank you, Rose! I'll keep them forever."

She laughed at him, paying no attention to the fact that he knew her name. "You're silly, but I like you! I'm gonna go play now. Bye!" She waved at him and ran off to find Mickey again.

"I remember this day." Bad Wolf/Rose commented softly.

"I'm sure you do." The Doctor stood to leave then, angry that this creature had decided to show up then, no matter what face it held.

He'd go to his future, head held high and remembering that there was always something fighting for.

Rose Tyler watched her younger self playing for a while longer, hearing the echoes of the Doctor's TARDIS fading away in the distance. As the sun set, Jack found her there on the same bench, clutching a small bouquet of forgotten wildflowers, and weeping silently.


	14. Rory

**Leadworth. England. Earth, also known as Sol 3. Mid-2008.**

Finding out that the imaginary friend of the woman he loved was not only real, but was, in fact, a time travelling madman with the absolute  _ strangest _ fashion sense, would have put a damper on many relationships and run off most men. But Rory Williams wasn't ‘most men’.

He could handle Amy's strange obsession with her Raggedy Doctor. He understood the glee of having your childhood dreams validated. He was even happier to know that she wasn't really crazy and that her and Mels' games weren't just her way of coping with the loss of almost everyone close to her.

But he just couldn't wrap his head around the idea that the man travelled in a phone box the way Amy had described.

After his shifts at the hospital, Rory had made it a point to research this mysterious Doctor and was absolutely astounded at the historical records he'd found. Some hailed him as a Saint while others vilified him to no end. Nothing mentioned the police box in detail though.

Rory closed the book and sighed, rubbing his eyes in exhaustion and willing away the headache he'd had brewing for the last few days. He was getting nowhere fast and it was bloody irritating.

A not-so-soft pop of a not-very-heavy book landing in front of him made him jerk back in shock just as a pretty blonde plopped into the seat next to him.

"You alright, mate?"

"Um. Yeah?"

She laughed low at his nervous discomfort. "S'alright. M'not gonna bite. Just thought you'd like something better than those dusty old things you've had your head buried in."

He read the title and quickly became more confused. " _ Hyperspace _ by Michio Kaku? But…" He looked up to question the woman, but she'd gone just as quickly as she'd come.

A slip of paper marked a page in the book, prompting him to get started. "Other Dimensions. Ooookay."

Rory Williams didn't move until hours later when the head librarian threatened to call the police and have him escorted out.

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Small scratches covered the column in front of where Rory Williams, the Lone Centurion, waited. By his count, it had been 6287 days since the Pandorica closed with his fiancée inside.

For the first few years, he talked to her about nothing and everything he could think of. He'd postulated theories about what would happen when the Doctor finally showed back up. He told her stories and fairy tales. He'd even rebuilt their entire lives from birth to death a few times.

The stories kept him sane. They kept him going just at the idea that she might hear him and would know he'd never leave her alone.

After the first decade, he'd started drawing, just little diagrams in the dust on the floor: Roman troop formations and battle plans, then people, houses, towns, cities. Eventually, his dusty scrawls became beautiful works of art that would have been hung in museums for their accuracy and detail. He simply committed them to memory, stamped them out, and started again.

It took even longer before he was comfortable enough to even think about venturing outside the chamber where the Pandorica stood. His favorite place just so happened to be the giant stone covering the Underhenge.

Many nights he laid on the stone, watching the stars and streaks of light and wondering which of them would be the Doctor. Other nights, sometimes weeks on end, he remained in the chamber, listening as the Druids practiced their Earth magic.

Seventeen years and a little over two months after he took his post, Rory laid out on the large stone, watching, waiting, and listening.

"Beautiful night."

His sword was in his hand and he was up and poised to defend before the thought even really crossed his mind.

It was her. The girl from the library!

She glanced at him from her spot atop one of the fallen stones, waiting for his guard to waver. She saw shock in his eyes, but he stood vigilant. She sighed and stood. "Alright, Centurion. I know you've got questions. Go ahead." She crossed her arms waiting for him to make the first move.

Rory straightened but kept his sword at the ready. "You know, had this been 2000 years from now, it would have really freaked me out. As it is, travelling with the Doctor kinda makes you immune to a lot of strangeness."

The blonde huffed at him, rolled her eyes, and muttered, "Yeah, tell me about it."

"You know the Doctor?"

She just cocked an eyebrow at him as he rolled his eyes. "Nevermind. 'Course you do. Alright, so do you have a name or just a title like him?"

She grinned at him and Rory was momentarily shocked at how beautiful such a simple muscle movement made her. "I'm Rose."

Being the gentleman he was, regardless of how long he'd been a soldier, Rory sheathed his sword and held out a hand. "Nice to meet you, Rose."

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Years became decades became centuries became millenia, and still Rory guarded the Pandorica. Legends of the Lone Centurion spread across the world, bringing the Pandorica and its mysteries to the public eye.

During their first meeting Rose had given Rory the superphone the Doctor had made for her all those years before. Luckily, she'd been able to continue upgrading it until it was, for all intents and purposes, indestructible. So, when the loneliness got to be too much to bear, Rory would make the call and Rose would come.

During the handful of visits, Rose would occasionally bring others and they'd spend days getting to know one another, sharing stories, laughing, and reminiscing. Rory would grab a hold of his sanity once more and his friends would depart.

His final call was a desperate one.

It was the height of the London Blitz in 1941 and the Pandorica was being held in a warehouse in London. Bombs dropped from German war planes and, when not being derailed by barrage balloons or stolen by well-meaning and still-mortal con men from the future, managed to land and explode. The death tolls and property damage were amazing.

Unfortunately, one bomb landed directly on the warehouse, destroying a vast majority of the superstructure. Falling support columns, metal, and flaming bits of wood shot around him and impacted with the Pandorica. Luckily, he'd been leaning against the side opposite the blast or else he never would have lived through the carnage.

Rory dove for the superphone and speed-dialed Rose. "Alex! Get your mum and come quick! I can't move this thing by myself!" More debris rained down on him as he looped the rope around the box and started trying to pull it out of the warehouse.

"RORY!"

Oh, thank god. "Ian! Over here!"

"What the hell happened… Shit!" Ian barely managed to dive away as a load-bearing timber came crashing down. "Nevermind! Explain later!"

Seconds later, Alex, Lydia, and Rose came running and managed to pull the massive 'prison' outside. Once to safety, Rory's injuries became quite apparent. The left side of his body was badly damaged. Heat had weakened the integrity of his plastic shell and the strain of pulling the Pandorica had warped his arms, legs, back, and hands.

"Oh, Rory. Come on. Let's get you fixed up." Rose and Alex hoisted Rory to his feet, pulled him carefully to their TARDIS and began the laborious process of resetting Rory Williams to his previous state.

The stories of the Pandorica continued without the Lone Centurion. Many thought he died in the fire that had also claimed so many, but a little more than fifty years later, his more than 2000-year mission to protect the woman he loved more than life finally came to an end.

Rory Williams, the Lone Centurion, the Boy Who Waited, held his fiancée in his arms and knew: Life was good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: For those of you that don't remember, when Rory came on the TARDIS the first time, it went a little something like this:
> 
> Doctor: Anywhere you want. Any time you want. One condition: it has to be amazing. The Moulin Rouge in 1890. The first Olympic games. Think of it as a wedding present because frankly, it's either this or tokens. It's a lot to take in, isn't it? Tiny box, huge room inside. "What's that about?" Let me explain—
> 
> Rory: It's another dimension.
> 
> Doctor: It's basically another dimension— What?
> 
> Rory: After what happened with Prisoner Zero, I've been reading up all on the latest scientific theories. FTL travel, parallel universes.
> 
> Doctor: I like the bit when someone says "It's bigger on the inside." I always look forward to that.


	15. Eleven

**TARDIS. Mausoleum of The Silence, after dropping off Dorium's head.**

He'd made it back to the TARDIS after that dreadful mess with the Silence and the aborted timeline. And now, he was married. 

To River Song, of all people. 

Granted, it was a marriage in a timeline that officially never existed and should therefore relinquish its hold on him, but bring a Time Lord meant he wasn’t that lucky. And that just made him angry.

He didn't love River like she deserved to be loved. The way her parents loved each other. The way she  _ seemed _ to love him... The way he himself loved someone else.

He moved the TARDIS into the vortex, then sat down and sighed, rubbing his tired eyes. Maybe a nap would help.

He snorted to himself. A nap. He really  _ was _ getting old.

No. No nap. He'd go somewhere… Maybe go find Captain Jack.

The Doctor landed in the Cardiff Millenium Centre. Or what was left of it. The Torchwood Hub was gone, leaving a hole in the ground that was still in the process of being cleaned out. Horrified, he could only watch, but it quickly became too much and he turned back to the TARDIS to search for anything remaining of his friend. 

The Doctor would help him no matter what it took.

Hours of searching finally registered Jack on a small planet in the Lupus constellation before he just... disappeared. Further searching yielded nothing. Captain Jack Harkness had completely been removed from the Universe.

"But that's…! That's  _ impossible. _ " 

He wouldn't have said it...  _ shouldn't _ have said it... but force of habit and his love of the impossible just drew it out of him.

Just as he reached for the lever to recalibrate the scanners, the TARDIS shook hard enough to toss him off his feet, sliding to the other side of the console room, entirely too close to the stairs for his comfort. Best not to regenerate after falling down stairs. That would be very, very not good at all...

Sudden stillness settled as his sexy blue box landed, but the monitor gave nothing away. "Well, then!" He clapped his hands together and rubbed excitedly. The words "poke it with a stick" wandered through his mind in search of something to connect with.

The Doctor opened the doors to reveal Woman Wept in all her frozen majesty.

"Why'd you bring me here, dear?" He stroked the door frame as he muttered, mostly to himself. The TARDIS only chimed back to him.

He pulled on his green peacoat and strode out, locking the doors behind him, looking for anything that might be suspicious. Had he looked behind his TARDIS, he would have seen another one, very similar to his own, but oh so much younger.

He'd only been walking for a few minutes when he heard the sound of laughter from a group of people, one of which sounded an awful lot like Jack Harkness. He climbed the snow dune and was promptly hit in the face with a very wet snowball. His tumble back down the hill was met with a solid grunt as he rolled to a stop.

Cold snow had pushed it way down his collar, drawing a shiver from the Doctor. He stood, wiped his face clean and glared up at the top of the embankment to see the shocked face of a pretty green-eyed brunette.

"Sorry about that! We didn't expect anyone else to be on this planet yet."

A male voice from the other side called up to her. "Lydia? What's going on?"

"There's someone else here!"

"What?" The sound of ice scraping against itself echoed back to the Doctor as he started his climb back up the snow, then stopped at the sight of Captain Jack Harkness peering down at him with a thunderous look on his face.

"Captain! How did you get here?"

Shock wiped the immortal man's face clear of anything else. "Doc?"

The Doctor just grinned and he spread his arms wide. "Who else can travel through space and time in a blue box that's bigger on the inside?"

He could've sworn the girl – Lydia – had said something along the lines of, "Oh shit," before she was drowned out by Jack's loud whooping. Immediately, she drew back over the hidden ice peak and ran to the rest of the group.

The Doctor could only watch in semi-horror as one of his oldest friends – literally – jumped over the edge of the embankment and slid down the snow, impacting with the Doctor and sending them both sliding back down the hill.

After he regained his breath, he poked Jack hard in the forehead. "I  _ don't  _ appreciate being used as your toboggan, Captain."

This earned him a grin and a kiss, which he promptly wiped away. "You know you liked it."

Jack helped the Doctor to his feet. "So what brought you here, Doc? Strange alien menace, an overwhelming desire for snow cones, or a walk down memory lane?"

The Doctor just looked at Jack. "No, and I'd like to know what brought  _ you _ here. I thought I disabled that thing?" He pointed to Jack's vortex manipulator.

Jack just laughed and clapped the Doctor on the back, dislodging more snow. "Just traveling with some friends, that's all."

"I think I'd like to meet these friends of yours, Captain."

Jack just grinned, unable to believe his luck. "Oh, I'm sure that can be arranged." He couldn't wait to see the old man's face… He pointed to the top of the embankment that Lydia had been perched on. "That was Lydia. You can meet everyone properly in a minute."

Voices, again from the other side, rang out.

"I swear! Jack called him 'Doc'!" Lydia's voice if he wasn't mistaken.

"No way! Seriously?" A male this time.

"As in THE Doctor… right?" Another male voice. "Oh man. Mum's gonna  _ flip!" _

How many people was Jack  _ with _ ? And someone's  _ mother _ had heard of him? He winced remembering the last few mothers he’d met and the vicious slaps he'd received.

Slightly more than halfway up, the Doctor saw three faces peek over the edge. Lydia and the two males, all with wide eyes and huge grins. The blond male on the end waved. The Doctor waved back and lost his footing. Thankfully, Jack put a hand to his back to stop his slide. 

Just a few more steps… A pale hand reached down into his field of vision and he took it without thinking. And froze.

It fit perfectly in his own.

Only one person's hand had ever fit his own so well. He traced the grasp from fingertips to hand to wrist to arm and finally to the owner's grinning face.

His jaw dropped open and he lost his infamous ability to orate.

"Hello, Doctor."

Absently, he heard Jack huffing close behind him. He reached back with his free hand, never breaking their locked gazes, and pushed against Jack's chest to propel himself upward. He never heard Jack's yelp as he slid back down or the laughter of Lydia and her friends at Jack's predicament. Instead, he presently had his arms around one Rose Tyler, kissing her with everything in him.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, dragging fingers through his hair. This prompted him to crouch slightly, get a better grip on her, then pull her off her feet and closer into him. She squeaked a bit but refused to release his lips from her own.

Jack made it back to the top of the hill and huffed at his friends still rolling around laughing, then grinned at the sight of Rose and the Doctor making an excellent effort to forget anyone else existed.

Jack tapped the Doctor's shoulder to get his attention and got a growl for his effort. He rolled his eyes and tapped again. This time, Rose slapped his hand away.

The Doctor pulled back from Rose's warmth but did not release her. Instead, as she slid down his torso, he let a pleased rumbling boil up from his chest. She answered with her own satisfied hum before they both turned to a waiting Jack Harkness.

A quick, "Good to see ya, Doc!" preceded his controlled slide down to his friends.

The Doctor looked back to Rose. "Rose Tyler. How in the multiverse are you here?" His murmured query brought a chuckle and a classic tongue-in-teeth smile from his favorite pink and yellow human.

"Family trip." She stroked a hand across his bowtie. "Love the bowtie."

"Bowties are cool, Rose Tyler."

"Mmmm, yes, Doctor." She grinned and adjusted said bow tie. "Yes, they are." She took his hand in hers again and could almost hear an audible click as the pieces they'd both been missing for so long fell into place. "Come on, meet the family."

Another controlled, but slightly awkward, slide down the ice brought everyone together, allowing Rose to make introductions.

"Doctor, this is Lydia, Alex, and Ian. These are my children." Pride was evident in her voice at her presentation, but shock staggered the Doctor.

" _ Children _ ?" His mouth gaped open and closed a few times as he shifted his gaze and pointed finger from each 'child' to Rose, and back again.

Rose cocked an eyebrow. "Yes, Doctor. My children."

"But… But… I mean…  _ How _ …? Well, I know  _ how, _ but… You…" The Doctor was speechless.

"Oh, this is priceless. I wish I had my camera!" Jack laughed again as he started searching his pockets.

"Oh, do be quiet, Captain." The Doctor groused.

Lydia, Alex, and Ian all collapsed in giggles again.

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Hours later, Rose was introducing the Doctor to her TARDIS, their hands still clasped tightly together. The Doctor had found his Rose and there was no way he was letting her go to give the universe a chance to tear them apart again.

Rose explained that John had managed to grow the TARDIS on Earth in the garden behind their home outside London. It had taken almost fifteen years to mature even with the shortcut Donna had told them about.

"It was worth it though. All that time spent on Earth gave both of us time to really find what we needed in each other. She was finally ready on Lydia's eleventh birthday but we didn't take Gea on Her maiden voyage until almost a year later. So, we spent that time filling Her full of as much information as we could get our hands on." Rose chuckled fondly. "Even in that universe we had the Shadow Proclamation, so we petitioned them on behalf of Earth. Earth got  _ very _ popular  _ very _ quickly!"

"Well, if Pete's World is as jeopardy-friendly as its inhabitants, then I imagine so." The Doctor smiled to Rose and continued looking around, amazed at how 'at home' he felt here.

Walking through the front door of another TARDIS was something he'd never considered after Gallifrey was destroyed. But this… This was beyond beautiful!

Curving amber coral shaped the dome-like structure of the console room while coral-wood branches grew up from the floor and supported a balcony that ran the entire circumference of the room. Deep burnished wood covered the floors and bases of the struts before fading into the trunk of the coral supports. A large circular platform in the center of the room held a command console that bore a striking resemblance to something the Doctor just barely remembered. 

To the right of the main console room, a small room glowed with soft light. Large comfortable chairs, a sofa, and numerous throw pillows invited visions of floating in the Vortex during rare downtime, having tea with his friends, and perhaps even cuddles when everyone else had gone off to bed.

Twin staircases arched up on either side of the main room, similar to his own TARDIS' single staircase. Two arched doorways led inhabitants off to other areas of the TARDIS, while the center alcove had pictures of Rose and her children, friends, and family plastered over every available inch.

"This is gorgeous, Rose. She's beautiful!" He pulled Rose into his embrace again, still barely believing she was really there with him.

Rose held him close enough that she could feel his hearts beating into her own chest. She breathed in that scent that was only his: tea and time and just a bit of TARDIS grease. She would have happily huddled into his embrace for the next few millennia, but pulled back to look him in the eye. "Would you like to meet her?"

"Who?"

"Gea."

"Gea? The TARDIS?"

She rolled her eyes at him and whapped his arm. "Of course, Gea! Who else?"

"Um… Alright… But how…"

"Gea?" Rose called out to the room without taking her eyes off his. "Gea, darling, come meet the Doctor!"

A golden swirl of light formed a beautiful little girl of about twelve. If the fact that Rose's TARDIS – Gea – had a holographic avatar wasn't enough to drop his jaw in shock, her outfit certainly would have. Not the white and yellow sundress that floated around black leggings – It perfectly set off her lightly-tanned skin, bright blue eyes, and brown and blonde-streaked hair – but the fluffy bunny slippers and matching rabbit-ear headband certainly did.

"Yeah. Not really something you expect to see on a pan-dimensional, sentient, time and space ship's avatar, but she likes it." Rose grinned at Gea and was rewarded with a running hug from the girl.  _ She was corporeal! _

"Mum! I met my Matron! She's so pretty!" Gea jumped up and down in giddy, childish-glee.

"Oh, I'm glad, darling! Did you learn anything new?"

"Oh, yes!"

Rose couldn't help but love the child. And she was a child. Gea was still an infant in TARDIS-terms. Even so, the news that Her connection with the Doctor's TARDIS was welcomed didn't surprise Rose in the least. Neither would be the last of their kind any longer.

Rose took Gea's hand and led her to the Doctor. "Gea, this is your Matron's pilot."

Gea just cocked her head and tilted up one corner of her lips. "Hello, my Matron's Thief."

The Doctor was shaken out of his gob-smacked shock and could only slap a hand to his forehead before dragging it down his face, shaking his head. "Oh, not you too…"

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Rose docked Gea with the Doctor's TARDIS that evening after gathering her family from their icy playtime. Each person had made their way to their respective rooms for the night, calling out well wishes for sound sleep and good dreams. Even Jack managed a cordial, "Night, Rose. Night, Doctor," before a huge yawn cracked his jaw and encouraged his stumble down the corridor.

As a "Welcome Home", the TARDIS had materialized the jump seat from the previous console room. So Rose perched, smiling, in her favorite spot to watch one of her favorite people. The Doctor just leaned against the edge of the console watching her watching him.

A wave of nostalgia washed over him. He could only duck his head and clench his eyes shut, regretting the years of wasted time and opportunities.

A soft hand on his cheek made him jerk his eyes open so he could stare into the brown-eyed gaze of the woman he loved more than life. "Rose…"

"My Doctor." A soft smile lit her eyes before he pulled her into his arms.

"Are you here? Really here?" he begged into her hair, burying his face in the crook of her neck and inhaling her unique scent.

She grasped the back of his tweed jacket in her small hands and pulled him closer. "I'm here, Doctor. I promise. I'll always be here when you need me."

The last of the Time Lords loosed a soft sob where he'd buried his face. "Please. Don't leave me. Not again. I'm sorry, Rose. I'm so sorry." He pulled back enough to look her in the eye. "I love you, Rose Tyler."

She just stared at him and gave him her heart. "I love you, too."

The Doctor jerked Rose to him again, this time pressing his lips to hers in a scorching kiss. Her lips opened in a gasp and he took full advantage, pressing deeper as he turned and pressed her against the console.

Rose wound her arms around his neck, dragging fingers through his hair and hiking a leg high up on his hip.

The Doctor pulled her closer, wrapping her leg around to his back and pushing his pelvis into hers. He growled low when she grasped his hair and pulled his face from hers, allowing her to gasp in a quick breath. He just lunged forward again, wrapping his lips around the sensitive skin where her neck met her shoulder.

Heat shot through her body, so hot and so fast, her toes pointed and her body arched into his. "Doctor!"

He ground his pelvis against her again, holding her knee against his hip with one hand, the other stroking up her ribs to press against her heart in the valley of her breasts. Cooler-than-human hands made their way under her top, stroking upwards and brushing the undersides of her breasts with his thumbs. He would have effectively ripped the shirt off her had she not stopped him. "Not here, Doctor. Not in here.

He gathered his own self-control before nodding and releasing her to initiate dematerialization into the Time Vortex. Then, without warning, he all but dragged her down the corridor to the third room on the left – his room – slammed the door, and grabbed her to him again. One hand in her hair held her lips on his while his other arm curled around her back, promising to never let go again.

Her own hands were busy, threading through the brown silk of floppy hair, pulling just enough to make him gasp and growl into her mouth.

Disjointed images flooded his mind. Her taste, her kiss, her body, her heat, the sounds she made as he brought her to the heights of pleasure. It was dizzying and he was forced to stop, pull away, and press a hand to his head to try to regain some measure of control.

"Rose…?" His head was killing him. What…?

A soft press of her hand to his head and a bright flash behind his eyes, his memories fell into place and he finally realized why he could never have resisted her. She'd been there since the beginning. She'd met Susan, Jamie,  _ Romana _ … Then, when he finally met her in his fifth life, she'd blown him away. He knew then she was the one for him. The other half of his soul, the keeper of his hearts, the light to banish the darkness inside him. And then his eighth self… well.

"Oh…" He breathed heavily, staring wide-eyed at this magnificent woman. "I'd forgotten you. How could I forget  _ you _ ?"

Rose stroked his cheek then trailed down to place one hand over each of his hearts. "After you had to end the War, you were so broken. You almost didn't make it. I couldn't do anything, Doctor." Tears streamed down her cheeks. "You could have died, and I couldn't do anything."

He held her tightly as a quiet voice echoed from lifetimes ago,  _ "Live, Doctor. Live!" _

"Rose Tyler. You certainly did help. You commanded me to live. So I did. I had to. I need you too much to let go forever." He dipped his head down again to taste her lips, igniting the wildfire between them.

He kissed away the tracks her tears had made, tasted the skin of her throat, remembered the sound of her moans of pleasure, realizing he loved them even more now that he knew  _ exactly _ who she was.

The Doctor picked her up under her bum, tossed her onto his bed, and proceeded to love her the way he'd dreamt for centuries longer than he realized.

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Much later, the Doctor laid back with Rose Tyler draped across his torso, her fingers brushing across his chest as he combed his own hand through her hair and down her back.

"I was an idiot."

Rose grinned into him before placing a soft kiss to his left heart. "Yep," popping the 'p' in an eerily similar way to his previous self.

"You aren't supposed to agree, Rose Tyler."

"Oh?" She raised her head to prop her chin on her hand that lay on his chest. "And what sort of companion would I be if I didn't let you think you were right all the time?"

The Doctor chuckled softly and kissed her forehead, drawing a pleased hum from his lover.

His lover.

Rose Tyler was his lover.

And how fantastic was that?

Then, he remembered.  _ River. _

Rose felt his mood plummet and his body stiffen. "Doctor?"

She knew what was coming as clearly as if she'd lived it before. The regret setting in, the remorse, the constant threat of being  _ the last of the Time Lords _ . His own self-imposed punishment. 

She pulled away from his warmth and, tucking a blanket around her body, got up and started gathering her clothes, refusing to let him see how affected she was by his fear. Had she not dedicated her life to ensuring he’d  _ have _ a life, to giving him some semblance of hope, of happiness? What more would she need to do to prove to him she meant it when she said “Forever”?

By the time she emerged from the en suite bathroom fully dressed, she'd managed to calm herself. It seemed as if the decades of rigorous Torchwood training had paid off after all.

The Doctor laid there for several long minutes after Rose got up, a hand covering his eyes to block out the dim light. What had he done? The least he could've managed was to tell Rose he was married. Maybe try to find a way to explain the circumstances. But no. He'd told her he loved her,  _ begged _ her to stay with him. Made love to her.

He dropped his hand to his side just as Rose walked out of the bathroom, buckling her utility belt around her waist before bending and attaching it to clips on her thigh. Where had that come from?

Without looking him in the eye, Rose walked to the Doctor as he sat up. One knee on the bed, she dragged him over to place another fiery kiss to his slack mouth. And then she was gone, the door closing quietly behind her.

Precious wasted seconds passed before he gathered his wits enough to scramble from the bed, dress, and run barefoot from the room, yelling her name.

Rose heard the Doctor calling her name from the corridor and begged the TARDIS to keep him away for just a few more minutes. Thank all the gods for telepathy because her children were waiting for her at Gea's open doors. The TARDIS had moved Her daughter to the front of Her console room at Rose's request, sending a quiet wave of  _ please don't go just yet _ to Her human.

"I'm sorry, darling, but I can't… I love him so much, but he can't…" Rose sucked in a steadying breath. "I'm not enough for him."

She turned to her children, ignoring the TARDIS' protests. "Inside, please. It's time to go."

Jack waited to the side. "I'll stay with him, Rosie."

Rose bit her lip to hold back the tears and hugged the man she considered her brother. "Take care of him, Jack. Don't let him do something stupid."

"I promise. Now go before he gets wise to the TARDIS."

A tidal wave of despair slammed into Rose as she reached Gea and saw Alex waiting for her, holding out a hand for his mother.

"ROSE!" The Doctor. Damn it.

"Rose, please! Don't go!" Footsteps pounded down the stairs just a few meters away.

She took her son's hand and allowed him to pull her inside, missing the glare Alex shot the Doctor before he shut Gea's door softly. A second later, she heard the Doctor pounding on the door.

"Rose! Please, Rose, let me explain! I swear, I'm sorry but I can explain everything!"

His begging drove Rose to her knees as she covered her face in her hands and wept. Lydia immediately wrapped her arms around her mother. She didn't even look at Ian before tossing, " _ Go. Quick _ ," into his mind.

The sound of the universe echoed in the console rooms of both TARDISes as the Gea dematerilaized.

Jack managed to grab the Doctor from behind, having to use an amazing amount of force to hold the much slimmer man back. The Doctor's begging screams tore his heart to pieces but he didn't release him until Gea had completely gone.

The Doctor's legs wouldn't hold him up and he crumbled to the ground. "Rose…," he choked.

She was gone. Again. And this time, he'd been the one to push her -  _ drive  _ her - away.

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Lydia held her mother as she curled into herself on the console room floor and wept silently. She'd only seen Rose Tyler cry a handful of times in her life.

Once when her brothers were born.

Once when Grandma Jackie and Grandpa Pete died.

Once when Dad died.

Once when Uncle Tony died of old age.

And once each when she and her brothers had regenerated for the first time.

But this was something new. Her mother was the strongest person she'd ever known and, after more than 200 years, was convinced nothing could break her. Now, she got to watch as Rose's heart broke, and it was all because of the Doctor.

Lydia would have hated the man if he hadn't been the closest thing to a father she'd ever have again.

Rose wiped her face clean and straightened from her daughter's arms, breathing deeply to calm her roiling stomach. "I'm gonna go take a shower, Lyds." She kissed Lydia's cheek, then patted her shoulder as she dragged herself up and from the room.

Lydia watched from the floor, completely ignorant of the tears on her own face. It was like watching an old woman shuffling from the room.

Ian stood at the console, manning the controls that didn't need adjusting. Alex leaned against a support column with a scowl on his face that would have rivaled the Doctor's ninth incarnation on his worst day. The siblings waited in silence.

A little over an hour later, a fresh-from-a-scalding-hot-shower Rose strode back into the room acting as if she hadn't a care in the universe. Lydia jumped from her spot in the family room alcove off the main console room and ran to hug her mother.

"Mum! Are you okay?"

Rose smiled at her daughter and returned the hug a little stronger than normal. Her façade wasn't as strong as it should have been. "Of course, sweetheart. I'm just a little tired. Been a long day, hasn't it?"

Rose released Lydia to link their arms and addressed her children. "I'm sorry things didn't go as well as planned. But as you all know,  _ he _ wasn't expecting to see us. It was just a lot for him to take in at once."

Alex's voice exploded from where he still stood against the wall. "Come on, mum! Seriously? You're makin’  _ excuses  _ for him? That…  _ man… _ made you cry! What the hell…"

"Alex!" Rose's reprimand silenced her eldest son. "That's enough."

"But..!"

"No, Alex." Rose stepped toward him, releasing Lydia. "Your father wasn't perfect by any means. He came from the Doctor. So what makes you think the Doctor wouldn't screw up too? He hasn't seen me in god knows how long. Then, I show up, from another universe, mind you, with my three gorgeous, fully-grown children, and expect him to have just been waiting around, for nothing to have changed. Worse, to just be okay with it all? I don't think so."

Lydia broke in then. "Mum, what happened? I mean, he ran after you and you ignored him."

"He may be a Time Lord, but he's still a man," Ian's soft baritone answered for his mother. "I find it highly unlikely that he would have really  _ thought _ about much when the woman he loves is suddenly thrust back in his life."

Rose smiled wanly and nodded once. "As ever, Ian, you're right." She squared her shoulders and steadied herself. "I’ve got some things I need to do, so I’m trusting you to take care of each other. You always do, so don’t let this… don’t let the Doctor knowing who we are change things."

A chorus of "Mum!", "What?", and "Oh hell, no." sprouted from her children before she arched her eyebrow at them in silence.

"I'm leaving for a while, but not long, and it’s nothing new. Please,  _ please _ , don't do anything that would get you killed, regenerated, or otherwise harmed. And please, don't destroy any bits of the universe. I'm sure we'll need them someday."

Ian, Lydia, and Alex remained silent as Rose tapped out information requests into Gea's databanks. Satisfied, she walked to each of her offspring and hugged them tightly before walking toward the door. She raised a hand and called out, "Love you!" just as the double doors swung open to reveal the swirling gold of the Time Vortex.

Rose Tyler glittered and disappeared in a swirl and a flash, closing the doors safely behind her.


	16. The Master

**England. Earth, also known as Sol 3. Early 21st Century.**

The Master calmly began to rub his hands together, eyes locked on Rassilon and his weak, insignificant band of followers. Traitors, the lot of them. Well, all but  _ her _ . She'd saved his life once, and for that, he'd end it.  _ Finally _ .

"Get out of the way!" he snarled at the Doctor.

The Doctor looked sharply over his shoulder and, as the Master fired his first bolt of power, dove to the right. The bright burst of energy hit Lord President Rassilon in the chest, just as it had done to the Doctor in the wasteland.

Rassilon staggered back as the Master roared at him. " _ You _ did this to me! All of my  _ life _ !" He fired another bolt. " _ You _ made me! One!" His skeleton flickered into view and he fired off another round with each number he counted off. "Two! Three! Four!"

The Doctor squinted into the bright light as the Time Lords and the Master were dragged away into the whiteness. Gallifrey flickered and disappeared from view above Earth, leaving the Doctor once more the last of his kind.

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The Master was falling. Burning. Freezing. Dying. And he embraced it like a long-lost lover.

He'd finally done something worth a damn in his miserably long life. The drums in his head had driven him mad, of course, but he'd made the conscious decision to let it happen. Even now, forever falling through nothing, they still haunted him.

He screamed.

Eons passed and still he fell. Still he screamed, until his voice died and broken sobs ripped from him. The bright and dark surrounded him, forever bleeding into each other 'til no border could be distinguished between them. Cold sucked the air from lungs that could no longer hold breath while fire burned through the nerves in a body that never and always existed, constantly rebuilding and breaking apart.

He didn't know if he'd just been briefly pardoned, but when it all just stopped, the damage had already been done. The Master was left drifting on the verge of life and death.

Soft, warm arms wrapped around the shell of the rogue Time Lord. He would have cursed his imagination if he'd been able to manage the thought to do so. Gravity reasserted itself gradually and his deadened senses were reawakened by the smell of vanilla and honey and time.

Pieces of his mind had been scattered through the Universe, finally and blessedly taking those blasted drums in the end. So, when he felt the caress of another mind on his, gathering up the pieces and rebuilding him, he so fervently denied the intrusion, he would have lashed out if he knew how.

The drums, the never-ending drums. They echoed in his skull again and cracked his newly formed psyche.

"Master. Wake up."

_ No. _

"Yes, Time Lord. Wake.”

_ NO. _

_ Don't argue with me, Master. You're not gonna win this one, so you may as well wake your lazy arse up. _

Shock made his eyes fly open. Never had he been so compelled to obey. Not even Rassilon himself could have commanded the Master! But this little blonde female had succeeded where Time Lords, Daleks, and even Eternals had failed miserably.

Well, that was new.

"Hello, Master. Good to see you awake."

The drums echoed in his head in a steady one-two-three-four beat that matched his own hearts beats. He made to move, to shove her away, to run. Maybe find the nearest sun to throw himself into. But he couldn't so much as lift a finger as he watched the woman stand and turn away.

He knew her. He'd  _ seen _ her. Where… where…  _ when _ … oh. Oh gods. It was her. The Doctor's precious companion. The one that had looked into the heart of the Doctor's TARDIS and  _ lived _ even as the Doctor regenerated for the ninth time into his tenth incarnation. But.. She was gone.  _ Trapped _ . In another bloody  _ UNIVERSE! _

If he could have groaned at the sheer injustice, he would have.

"You shouldn't be so surprised, Master. It's not like the heart of the TARDIS is much different than the Untempered Schism. Both set events into motion that would bring us both here." She looked over her shoulder at him. "Well,  _ I _ brought you here, but you get the point, dontcha?” And then, Rose Tyler winked at the Master. “Yeah... You do."

Rose gathered up the tea and warm, wet cloth from the table on the other side of the room before returning to her guest's bedside. "You were out of it for a while. Here. Drink." She held the cup to his lips to drink, which, surprising both of them, he slurped it all down in one go. "Good! Now, let's get you cleaned up."

Slowly, over several days that bled into weeks, the Master regained the ability to care for himself, but had yet to speak. Not that he couldn't. (Oh, he could. Given the proper motivation, he could out-gob the Doctor himself!) No. He just had nothing to say. So, when Rose would ask him something, he would nod or shake his head. Sometimes, rarely, he'd answer directly to her mind, but not once did he speak out loud.

He'd rather not open his mouth to release the screams that built behind his teeth. The drums were worse now, if that were possible.

Weeks passed in his silence until, one day, Rose went missing.

The Master hadn't seen her all day. Normally, she'd be walking about the house she shared with him, humming to herself, making tea, or even trying her hand at baking.

The woman was a mystery. She could manage some of the most complicated recipes in the Universe, but simple chocolate biscuits confounded her.

He'd found her standing at the back door of the kitchen one evening, scowling at the smoking remains of her latest baking endeavor, and approached with the question poised in his mind.

"I've decided biscuits are evil. Nothing that simple should be so difficult. Let's just hope Tesco's has a steady supply from now until forever."

His snort just set her off in peals of girlish giggles and prompted a real, honest-to-goodness smile from the broken old man. He'd never admit it to anyone, but he fell in love with her just a little when she took his hand and pulled him outside for their evening walk.

The Master knew there was nothing remotely dangerous on this planet. As a matter of fact, Rose had told him they were the only people there, past or present.

"Unless you bring company home. Then, just put a sock on the door." He'd rolled his eyes at the immaturity she'd so loved to flaunt, but only because she'd found rather quickly that it made him smile. He was safe there, and the universe was safe from him.

He'd been searching for Rose for hours. Her tea had grown cold on the kitchen counter and her perfect Gangriflorian froutes (a surprisingly green souffle that tasted a lot like butterscotch toffee) had been left untouched. When he finally found her tucked against a tree several hundred yards from the house, the suns had set in the horizon and this planet's version of Earth's fireflies had begun dancing in the meadow.

Alarmed, the Master ran to where she lay unconscious, fearing something horrible had happened. Her pulse was strong and skin warm, but not hot. She wasn't sick, so what happened? He brushed her hair from her face and saw dried tear tracks staining her cheeks.

_ Oh. _

Gently, the Time Lord gathered the petite blonde into his arms and carried her home.

It was only later that evening, after Rose had woken and thanked him for his kindness (This shocked him to the core.) that they'd made their evening meal and sat quietly together in the den.

"I miss my children, Koschei."

Had she been anyone else, he would have raged against them, demanding to know how they knew his name. But this was Rose, so he reached across the table and placed a comforting hand over hers.

She raised shiny eyes to his and stroked his fingers with her thumb. "Did I ever tell you I had children?"

A negative shake of his head prompted a true Rose Tyler smile, and thus began her tales of her travels with the Doctor, Torchwood, their separation and her search for him, life with John, and Lydia, Ian, and Alex.

She talked for hours and he envied her the life and love she'd had. Finally, as dawn broke over the horizon, she grew quiet.

"I won't take them from you, Koschei. I won't stop the drums."

He clenched his eyes shut, resigned to the fact he'd never be rid of the madness.

"Oh, Koschei." She hugged him then, holding him close as he sobbed.

"Come with me." He stared blankly at her hand, then up to her. 

"Well, come on, then." Sighing, he took her hand and allowed her to drag him up and out into the morning.

They walked for almost an hour in silence before stopping on the edge of the most beautiful sight he'd ever come across in his all his lives.

The bits of his new home he'd seen had looked amazingly like Earth, if you ignored the twin suns and three moons. Emerald green grass covered the rolling land up to the snow-capped stone mountains in the distance. Trees and forests dotted the landscape and curled around a lake that sparkled like diamonds in the suns’ light.

But this…  _ This _ was like walking back onto Gallifrey before the war had destroyed everything. Lush, red grass stretched as far as he could see, occasionally marred by silver-leafed trees taller than any he'd ever encountered. They must have been so incredibly old.

The oldest tree on Gallifrey had been over 7000 years old and had grown to almost 214 meters. At close to 300 meters tall, there was no telling how long these had stood guardian over these fields.

"Come on. I wanna show you something." She pulled the gaping Time Lord down to the red fields, laughing as his head craned further and further back until he almost fell over. She just tugged him further on.

Not much further, she pulled him to a stop, pointed about 300 yards away, and watched as the Doctor's greatest enemy fell to his knees.

A field of baby TARDISes grew on land that could have belonged to his home world. Dozens budded, flowered, matured, and grew from gold and silver shoots while a rainbow of colors adorned them in swirls and arches.

"Can you hear them, Koschei?"

He shook his head, but not because he didn't hear their song. In fact, he refused to listen. He didn't deserve to hear them, their innocence and ageless wisdom.

Rose placed her hand to the top of his head and tucked him against her hip. "I can't take the drums from you, darling. But I can give you something better."

The Master reluctantly pulled his gaze from the nursery and look up to Rose.

"I can't stay much longer. Will you be their caretaker? Make sure they grow strong and healthy?"

_ I don't deserve this, Rose. Please, I can't do this. It's enough to know they live. Don't taint them with my touch. _

Rose crouched down and pulled his face level with hers. "I'll tell you like I told the Doctor: 'Don't be daft.' Sure you're an alien, but you ain't the devil, mate. I’ve  _ met  _ him and you are nothing like him. So, please, just give yourself this chance?"

The Master squeezed his eyes closed, drew in a deep breath, nodded, and was promptly tackled by a squealing blonde spitfire. "Thank you! I knew you'd be  _ perfect _ for the job!" and kissed his cheek soundly.

The Master blushed.

"Now, to take care of one more pesky little problem."

He turned questioning eyes to her, widening them almost comically when golden tendrils of light started to stream from the corners of her gaze. Too quick for him to see, she thrust a hand out and caught him firmly on the side of the head, palm connecting with his temple and holding him still.

The Master froze in place and every muscle in his body locked. Hotter than regeneration and infinitely more painful, The Master burned from the inside out. He loosed the screams he'd locked in his throat the past few weeks and felt muscles, sinew, and bones creak under the amazing pressure.

An outsider would have thought she was killing him in the worst imaginable way, until they saw the excess energy start rolling from Rose in waves. The baby TARDISes absorbed it greedily, growing, glowing, and pulsing while their songs rose in volume until it rode the winds that swept the valley.

The light faded slowly and Rose released her friend to let him fall back gasping and sobbing. Her own tears mirrored his.

"I'm so sorry it had to hurt. Please, Koschei,  _ please  _ forgive me." She covered her face and sat hard on the ground, red grass waving around her.

Koschei lay in the living silk, gasping and willing back the nausea and bile. He slowly regained control of his body and reached for her hand, forgiving her for everything.

"Thank you," she whispered.

The pair sat there in the red grass, shadows from the trees shading them in the late morning sunlight.

"Do you hear them?"

She was adamant, he'd give her that. So, to placate his friend, Koschei closed his eyes, settled his mind, and focused.

Soft, chiming, happy, loving songs whirled in the deepest recesses of his mind and sealed the fractures in his psyche. The drums were still there, but were no longer the steady beat of the call to war. Instead, the softest  _ onetwothreefour _ signaled the hearts beats of the TARDISes in his charge.

Awe-struck, he could only stare slack-jawed before he jerked Rose into his arms to hug her and struck her speechless with a whispered, " _Thank_ _you_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The Master could have been so great if Rassilon had kept his greedy friggin fingers out of that child's mind. Imagine what life would have been like for the Doctor and the Master had they been partners instead of enemies.


	17. Alex

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (In linear time, it's only been about two hours since Rose left.)

**Gea. Time Vortex.**

Rose reappeared in the Gea's kitchen, exhausted but elated. She'd accomplished her goal and was looking forward to some down-time.

Gea's avatar materialized a few feet away and immediately tackled Rose's legs. "Mum! I missed you!"

Rose stroked the child's head and laughed. "I've only been gone a little while, Gea!"

"I know, but when you have all of time and space at your disposal, it makes things a little wonky. Plus, I knew you were gone, so I missed you!" Gea hugged Rose's leg again, grinned up at her, and vanished.

"Scamp." Rose chuckled to herself and made her way to find her children.

Lydia was occupying her time with copies of Gallifreyan books Idris had allowed Gea to copy from Her library. Ian was working on his latest version of the original sonic screwdriver his father had shown him how to build. (He was determined to get the thing to work on wood, and really wanted to add in a recall mechanism to call Gea the next time they were in trouble.)

When she finally found Alex, he'd just walked into the console room from the outside, looking a bit rumpled, but none the worse for wear.

"Alexander James Noble, what have you been doing?"

Like a kid caught with his hand in the candy bowl, Alex slammed the door and whirled around to face his mother. He might tower over her by more than a foot and out-weigh her by at least sixty pounds of muscle, but he was wise enough to fear her. "Mum! When did you get back?"

She cocked an eyebrow at him. "Just a few minutes ago. Now, what were you doing?"

Alex grinned at her, swept her into a hug, and twirled her around, making her shriek before he settled her back on the ground dizzily. "Aw, you know me too well, mum. Nothing much doing, just the usual." A bright, manic grin that reminded her so much of John lit up his face. "Just an awful lot of running."

Rose sighed and rolled her eyes at him. "Well, come on then, son. Take me somewhere beautiful!"

Alex laughed at his mother, reveling in her new bright mood, and dematerialized Gea into the Vortex.

*2 Hours Earlier*

Rose raised a hand waving as she called out, "Love you!" just as the double doors swung open to reveal the swirling gold of the Time Vortex. Alex watched as his mother glittered and disappeared in a swirl and a flash, the doors closing safely behind her.

He stood there for a moment, letting the silence build, then stalked to the console to gently push Ian out of the way.

"Alex. What are you doing?" Lydia's suspicious concern bled through her words.

Alex just glowered as he set reverse coordinates to take them back to the Doctor's TARDIS. "He and I need to talk."

Gea settled on Earth in Cardiff less than a hundred feet from the Doctor's TARDIS. Alex turned to leave but was caught by his brother's hand on his arm. "Just… don't do anything  _ too _ damaging."

Alex grinned evilly at his brother, rolled his eyes at Lydia's shrieked "Ian!", and strode out. His grin was immediately replaced with a dark glower as Gea closed Her doors behind him and cloaked Herself.

Anyone that would have seen Alex Noble coming would have gladly turned and run. His own impression of the ninth Doctor's 'Oncoming Storm' glare was impressive.

Alex raised his arm mid-step, snapped his fingers, and smirked as the doors to the Doctor's TARDIS opened softly, allowing him free entrance.

Idris' avatar appeared in front of Her control console, pointing toward the corridor upstairs. "He's in the library, dearest."

"Thank you, Idris."

The Doctor felt the chiming pleasure from his TARDIS, signaling one of Her children had come home. Hope beyond hope welled in him, and he jumped from his chair, scattering books in his wake, to run to the library door. He jerked it open with a loud cry of "Rose..?" only to be faced with a very angry Alex Noble.

Without a word, Alex reached up and slapped the Doctor, then watched with a satisfied smirk as the Time Lord cradled his cheek in his hand.

"OW!" He rubbed his abused flesh, amazed that the Tyler Slap had managed to be handed down so well. "Well, that proves everything," he muttered. "You're  _ definitely _ Jackie Tyler's grandson."

Alex cocked an eyebrow at the Doctor and loosed a quick, "Ha! If you think Grandma Jackie would have let you off  _ that _ easy, you got another thing comin', mate." Alex took a small step forward and growled out, "No.  _ That _ was from Aunt Donna. She says 'Hello, Spaceman.'" Alex smirked at the gape-jawed look the Doctor presented, still holding his cheek.

Then, quick as lightning, Alex shot his hand out and grabbed the Doctor by his collar and bowtie, dragging him to within inches from his own face. "You made my mother cry, Doctor.  _ No one _ makes my mum cry," and thrust the Doctor away from him, watching as he fell to the ground and slid back on the library floor.

Alex's prey propped himself up on one elbow just as Alex saw Jack come running around a corner and to a skidding stop. Before Jack could say anything, Alex held up one finger. "Be with you in a mo, Uncle Jack," and strode purposefully into the library, the door closing automatically behind him.

Jack would have followed his nephew/godson, but was blocked by the TARDIS' avatar. "They need a minute, my dear Captain. Would you care to join me while we wait?" She gestured to the side, expanding the hallway to include a café-style table and chairs. An open bottle of wine completed the offer.

Jack grinned at Idris and held out an arm for her to take. "How can I turn down an offer like that from such a gorgeous lady?"

Idris laughed. "I always  _ did  _ like you, Captain!"

01100100 01101111 01100011 01110100 01101111 01110010 01110111 01101000 01101111

A little more than twenty minutes later, the library door opened to reveal a rumpled Alex Noble and a thoroughly-chastised Doctor.

Jack offered his glass to Alex who took it gratefully and emptied it before handing it back. Jack just looked at him and asked, "Settled?"

"Not by a long shot." Alex cut a glare at the Doctor and muttered, "He's lucky I didn't regenerate him."

His uncle just handed him another glass of wine and, now sipping slowly, said, "She left, Jack. Mum left," and gratefully plopped into another seat Idris materialized for him.

Jack knew what Alex meant, of course. There had been times when he'd been travelling with his extended family that Rose would flash away for hours, days, or even weeks at a time, but she always came back. Luckily, her children were smart enough to (usually) get out of whatever trouble they may have landed themselves into.

They may have been young by Gallifreyan standards, but Rose and John had made sure their children grew up to be responsible, respectful, and  _ very _ good runners.

Unfortunately, the Doctor had no clue of any of this. All he'd heard was Rose was gone. "What do you mean she 'left'? Where did she go? And how long have you been gone?"

Not sparing a look for his almost-father, Alex answered. "We'd only been gone a few minutes when I decided you and I needed to talk."

"But…"

Alex rolled his eyes and looked at the Doctor with what could almost be considered sympathy. "She's Rose Tyler, Doctor. She's my mum. She can do whatever the hell she bloody well pleases."

Idris pointed her finger at Alex. "Language, cub."

Chastised, Alex murmured, "Yes, ma'am," and continued to Jack, "She said she had to go, told us not to blow up anything important, and walked into the vortex. I know I shouldn't worry, but…"

Jack leaned forward and placed a comforting hand on Alex's knee. "But she's your mum. That's your job. You worry about those you love."

Did he just say Rose had walked into the vortex? As in the Time Vortex? The crossroads of every point in space and time?  _ The _ Time Vortex? The Doctor's gaze was glued to his love's son when he yelled, "What?!"

Alex just looked at him drolly before turning back to Jack with a smirk, jerked his head in the Doctor's direction. "How much does he know?"

"Ah. Um… Well…" Jack rubbed the back of his neck as an embarrassed blush crept up from beneath his collar. "I mean… Um… Crap."

Alex threw his head back and laughed. "Oh! That's priceless!" He stood then, drained the last bit of wine from his glass, and thumped his uncle on the back. "I'll leave that to you then," and turned to leave. "Oh! And thank you again." He inclined his head to Idris, who smiled beatifically.

"My pleasure, cub," and disappeared just as the Doctor truly noticed Idris' presence.

The Doctor just stood glaring at Jack and waiting for answers as Alex walked out of his TARDIS and back to Gea. Alex could only laugh as he opened Gea's doors and came face to face with his mother.  _ Oh, the joys of time travel _ , he thought.


	18. River

**Gea. Time Vortex.**

All was quiet for a moment as Rose rested in Gea's library, drinking her tea and listening to the hum of her ship. These moments had been so rare of late, she'd learned to take advantage of the silence.

Of course, things could never stay quiet.

The walls of the library slowly faded only to be replaced by stone walls and bars. Had Rose not been absolutely positive her body remained in the library, she would have sworn she'd been teleported to this – really, absolutely  _ miserable _ – jail cell.

Oh.

So, that's it.

.-. .. ...- . .-. / ... - -. -.

Professor River Song laid on her bunk, reading her journal and reminiscing. Such wonderful adventures. A pang went through her hearts knowing the day was coming very soon when the Doctor would have no clue who she was and River knew she would die that day.

With a sigh, she closed the journal and clasped it to her chest. After god knows how many years of being locked up, she doubted very much that parole would be coming soon.

River closed her eyes, steadied her breathing, and listened. The turn of the planet, the movement of the storm outside, the waves of time ebbing and flowing. It was beautiful music.

Her eyes flew open.

But not as beautiful as that! The sound of the universe echoed from the small radio she kept by her window and, with a grin, she jumped from the bed.

Rose watched in silence as River dressed for adventure, pulled her vortex manipulator out, and focused it on the sound emanating from the radio speakers.

With a pop, her vision returned to normal, the library walls coming into sharp relief as she refocused. Rose threw her head back and laughed. "Gea!"

Gea's avatar materialized. "Yes, mum?"

"Gea, darling, we're about to be expecting company. Be a dear and realign your shield matrix for incoming transport." Rose just grinned. Oh, she'd been waiting to meet Professor Song for  _ ages _ !

Gea lit up, excited. "'Kay!" and disappeared.

Rose ran from the library to the console room just as Gea signaled that the realignment was complete and all systems were working optimally. She ran an affectionate hand across the console in thanks.

.-. .. ...- . .-. / ... - -. -.

A crackling pop and a flash of light deposited River in the console room.

_ What the hell?  _ River looked around, more than a little shocked.  _ Oh. Oh my. This is not the Doctor's TARDIS. Then what… oh my god, it's another. Another TARDIS. Other Time Lords?! _

"You're a bright one, River Song. I see why he likes you."

River pulled her blaster and turned, her aim sighted before she focused. Too many years of training, but not enough to prevent the look of shock bloom across her face as her blaster disintegrated into gold dust and reappeared in her holster.

The blonde woman leaning against the TARDIS console, arms crossed over her chest and eyebrow cocked, just smirked and rolled her eyes upwards. "I love temporal grace." She giggled a bit.  _ Giggled! _

"Who the hell are you and how am I here?" River was getting angry. This… This…  _ blonde _ had intercepted her teleport to the Doctor. He came when she called, so she would do the same.

"And he'll keep coming until he no longer can." The blonde's smile faded and River met her unblinking gaze. "Besides, he didn't call you. Apparently, I did."

River watched as the woman pushed from the console, turned, and motioned for River to follow. "Come along, Pond. We need to talk."

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Oh god. She was Rose Tyler.

Over the years, River had managed to pry stories from the Doctor about Gallifrey, his friends, his enemies, his adventures, and his past companions. Of all of it, even Gallifrey's destruction, the one thing he barely mentioned was  _ her _ .

Oh sure, she'd gotten him drunk a few times trying to learn why he kept her so secret, but he'd always metabolized the alcohol before he said too much.

River knew Rose Tyler had been the first companion the Doctor had after the Time War. She knew Rose had done something spectacular around the same time he regenerated into his tenth form. And she knew Rose lived in a parallel universe with a human copy of the Doctor's tenth incarnation. (That had given River a  _ number _ of thoroughly wicked thoughts.)

But that's all.

Now, the one woman River was convinced held the Doctor's hearts was in her home universe, in a TARDIS, and they were having tea. Well, Rose was. River's wineglass had been refilled twice already. 

It was a lot to take in!

"That's why I need your help. You are  _ so  _ instrumental in his life, keeping him safe when he's off doing something so universally stupid."

"I'd ask how you knew all that, but from what little I've heard… Everything you've told me... " River just sat back sighing.

"I know. This is going to be so hard on everyone concerned, you realize that, don't you?"

"But we have to play the game, don't we? Or things could get a hell of a lot worse."

"True." Rose grinned slyly. "And since every game must have a rule book…" River's journal materialized on the table between them and Rose reached for it, handing it over. "The first move is yours, Professor Song."

With a wide grin, River stood, tucked the journal under her arm, and entered new coordinates into her Vortex Manipulator. A wink, and she was gone.

"I like her," echoed simultaneously from two points in space and time.


	19. Jack

After Alex left the TARDIS, it fell to Jack to explain the new and improved Rose Tyler as best he could. Hours later, after relaying the story Rose had told him of her life in the parallel world, her children, and John, the Doctor only watched Jack in silence.

And Jack was starting to get a bit itchy.

His friend had been sitting there for going on ten minutes and had yet to move or even blink.

Jack had prided himself on being able to read the Doctor better than most, but the inscrutable mask on this new face was somewhat worse than the 'Oncoming Storm'. And it was pointed at him.

"Jack."  _ Oh god thank you _ , was all Jack could think. "How long have you known Rose has been home? How long did you travel with her and her children?"

Uh oh.

"Um. About… Two years?"  _ Bad idea, Harkness. Bad idea... _

"Two years." The Doctor lowered his hand from where he'd had it propped on the side of his head. " _ Two _ years. Two  _ years! _ And you couldn't call me  _ one time _ to tell me this?!"

What?

Jack was speechless. "Excuse me?"

Jack stood and pointed a finger at his oldest friend. "I  _ did _ call you.  _ Dozens _ of times! But the only time you or  _ anyone else _ decided to pick up, it was probably an accident! I guess it fell off the ringer or something, because all I heard was you, Doctor, talking to your  _ wife. _ "

He slashed the air in front of him with the flat of his hand. "No way, Doc. No way in _hell_ was I putting her through that again." Jack quieted then. "She told me so much, Doc. _So, so_ much. And no matter the face, Rose Tyler loves _you_.” Jack folded his arms over his chest and glared, “Even though River Song _is_ better than a French courtesan."

"She told you that?" the Doctor whispered.

"Yeah. Yeah, she did. You broke her heart, but she wanted you to be happy. Even if it wasn't with her, she wanted you to be happy. She told me that she would have welcomed Reinette on-board if she'd come. She wouldn't even have asked to go home. Rose would have waited for you, for herself to grow old and slow. Or until you sent her away. But she never would have held you back from your own happiness." Jack scoffed to himself before he turned away, facing a fireplace the TARDIS has materialized for Her Thief and Her Captain.

"I wouldn't have left her, Jack. She had to know that."

Jack sighed. "Yeah, she knew. Eventually. John told her. He convinced her that everything you, the Doctor, had done had been for her, more or less. He told her why you left them a second time. He told her about Donna."

The Doctor straightened at this, and Jack noticed. "Yeah. He knew." He turned back to face his friend fully, arms crossed over his chest. "He felt it when you regenerated. Scared the life outta, Rosie."

"When did she find out she wasn't aging?"

Oh, now that was NOT something he wanted to discuss. Matter of fact, Rose had very nearly forbid Jack from telling the Doctor what had happened, but Jack had made no promises. Even so, it still made him cringe.

"Jack?"

"It… wasn't pretty, I'll tell you that." Jack moved to sit again, feeling a bit light-headed thinking about how to phrase his version of the story.

"The way she tells it, she and John were in the field before his accident. Investigating, as you know Torchwood does so well." He was starting to feel a little nauseated. "She described them as these huge, grey-armored, blue-skinned warriors, but as soon as they saw her and John, they started shooting. So, she grabbed John and they ran. She said they were steps from their transport when she was hit."

The Doctor paled and whispered, "No."

Jack just nodded and continued. "Hit her right between the shoulder blades. Burned all the way through her, Doc. She said she felt it hit, never felt the hole it left, but definitely felt the truck when her head bounced off the fender. She died and John grabbed her gun and killed them all. Apparently, John called Torchwood, but by the time they got there, he was practically catatonic. He wouldn't let her go, so they bundled them up and took them back home. John had to be sedated and restrained."

Jack sat back and rubbed his eyes. "Her funeral would have been two days later, but when she walked out of the morgue that night demanding to know where the hell her clothes had gone, well…" He huffed out a quick breath. "She described it as a burning warmth, and then she woke up. She wouldn't go more into it."

The Doctor nodded, clearly at a loss for words and just absorbing everything Jack had told him. "How old is Rose, Jack?"

That prompted a deep chuckle. "She looks good for her age, Doc! Apparently, when she…  _ died _ … she'd just turned 27. Lydia was born when she was 31, the twins when she was 40. Then John died when he was 69. She was 60. When she found me, Rose was 337, Lydia was 206 and the twins were 197. You know, relatively…"

"Now?"

"I'd guess somewhere around 700 or so… give or take a millenium."

The Doctor cocked an eyebrow back at Jack and chuckled. "You're right. She does look good for her age."

Later that evening, still parked in Cardiff, Jack approached the Doctor in the console room.

"I've got some things to take care of here, Doc. Do you plan on being around long?"

The Doctor knew this was coming after their talk, but he'd hoped to put it off for a while longer. Being alone was never a good thing for him. "Oh, you know me, Captain. Always around somewhere."

"Some when?" he laughed at his friend.

"You got it." The Doctor leaned against the console, watching his friend.

Immortal or not, he could see the years etched into Jack's face and the way he carried himself. He smiled at Jack, quietly offering any support the man would need in his long life.

Jack hugged the Doctor, laughing at the Time Lord's flailing arms, before pulling back and kissing him full on the mouth.

"Captain!" He wiped his lips furiously. "Bleh."

Jack kept laughing as he walked out. "See you in hell, Doc!"


	20. River

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Perhaps suspension of disbelief is key to this story...

The Doctor ran through the building as it started to collapse. He'd landed during a planet-wide war that would mold the shape of this part of the galactic system for the next ten millennia. And just as his luck would have it, he'd been separated from the TARDIS and subsequently… conscripted… into helping the rebellion.

Now, it was his job to broker treaties between the other factions and 'bring them into the fold', so to speak. He was  _ supposed _ to meet his contact here, but when the government had discovered this, they'd started shooting (of course). Large shells skimmed the side of the building and ripped out a huge chuck of wall and rotting support columns.

The Doctor ran down the hallway, practically jumped down flights of stairs, and skidded around the last corner to his escape… and ran directly into River Song.

His shock kept him on the floor as he stared at her. "What in the hell are you  _ doing _ here?!"

River, to her credit, only jumped to her feet and dragged the Doctor to his own, yelling, "I'm your contact. Now,  _ come on _ !"

As the pair made their way out of the ramshackle building, it finally succumbed to the bombardment. Dust and dirt rose in plumes, throwing brick and glass at their retreating backs, luckily hiding their escape.

The Doctor dragged River to an abandoned bunker hidden in the hillside not far away and covered the entrance that had been hidden in plain sight.

The attack ceased for the moment and the pair listened as the commanding officer shouted orders to 'find the rebels'. It was quite a while before either of them spoke, not wanting to take the chance their voices would carry and draw attention to their location.

Quiet had finally fallen over the clearing outside and the Doctor turned to River from his lookout near the rotted door. She was perched in a far corner of the room, flashlight in hand, reading from the journal he'd given her so very many years before.

"I thought the purpose of the journal was to track the present that will be your past, not read your past that'll be my future, but considering our..  _ unique  _ situation, I guess the point is moot. So, forget I said anything."

Without looking up, River just smirked at him. "You'd be amazed what you can learn from your own past, sweetie."

"I'm sure," he murmured and looked back through the crack in the door. As far as he could see, there were no more soldiers waving guns in their direction and this made him breathe all the much easier.

River's journal had helped her numerous times over the years. Sometimes, even a scrawled 'Run!' would appear on a blank page. She learned to listen after she'd almost been killed one too many times. Now, since no warnings popped up, she closed the book and set the light on the floor. "You know, Doctor, someone once told me time can be rewritten, but that sometimes it's just best to make sure it goes right the first time around."

The Doctor grinned at her proudly and said, "That  _ does  _ sound like something I might say. Glad to see you've actually been listening, River Song!"

She just smiled at him mysteriously. "Too bad you didn't say it."

Now, that got his attention, confused as he might be. "What? Who?... River," he pointed a long finger at his companion-that-wasn't-really-a-companion. "Who've you been talking to?" As much as he hoped Rose had found her the same way she'd done him, he was quite plainly terrified of the thought.

"Spoilers."

Oh that cryptic grin of hers boiled his blood. "River.."

"Look, sweetie," she shook her journal at him, driving her point home. "I can't tell you and you know it, so stop asking."

He'd had enough and yanked the waving book from her hand. River jumped to her feet to grab it back, but he stopped her with a look.

"I know who you are, Melody Pond. Remember?"

River saw red as she managed to grab back one of the few belongings she cherished and muttered, "Like I could forget." She tucked the book into a pocket before facing him again. "Look. Let's just get this thing done with and we'll talk when we get back to the TARDIS tonight."

The Doctor threw up his hands and put his back to her at her nonchalance. "And how do you propose we stop a world war, depose the current dictator, and instate the rightful leader before dinner?"

A series of loud, concussive explosions in the distance rumbled the ground beneath their feet and shook the bunker. River just smirked. "Why, we call the cavalry, of course," and pushed past him to stride confidently outside.

"River! Wait a minute!" His fingers grazed her jacket but lost purchase as she slipped by him. He could only follow behind as quickly as he was able.

A bright crackle and flash left Captain Jack Harkness in the clearing that had hosted the soldiers just a few hours before. He was covered in soot and grime, blood streaking his face and torn clothing.

River frowned at the Immortal. "And what sort of time do you call this, Captain!" Her frown melted into a wide grin as she threw herself into his arms and was swung around, both laughing.

The Doctor could only look on in a greater state of confusion than he'd felt before. He didn't like that they knew each other so well. It was just plain…  _ weird. _

Jack set River on her feet and steadied her with a hand to her elbow before turning to the Doctor. "Doctor! Good to see you, old man!" He turned back to River. "Capitol's been demolished and Bob's been arrested for kidnapping, crimes against his people, and few other unsavory things."

"Bob?"

Jack grinned at the Doctor. "That's a heck of a lot easier to say than Kjisnaofendwe. You two ready for a little rebellion rising?"

The Doctor just rolled his eyes while River fluttered hers at Jack. "You sure know how to charm a lady."

"I do try my best!" He offered River his arm, which she took immediately, and his other to the Doctor. The trio vanished in a flash seconds later.

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True to her word, River had managed to not only instate Ranwenn as the new leader, but had gotten the TARDIS back from impound –  _ Impound _ ! Of all places! – and even turned down an offer of marriage ("Sorry, darling, I'm already spoken for." The Doctor had cringed just slightly at that.) before they found themselves in the console room. Just in time for a slightly-late dinner.

His companions had gone off to shower the day away, so the Doctor moved them away from the planet and into the vortex before leaving to find his own shower.

Later, he heard voices from the library and felt no qualms about eavesdropping on their conversation.

"I hate being gone from him for so long." River then. She sounded sad and just a bit stressed.

Jack sighed. "I know what you mean."

"How is she?"

The Doctor could hear the smiles in their voices then. "She's good. Great. Perfect! They really get along great now, even after all that mess in the beginning."

"Good. An unstable home life is never good when mixed with time travel."

Jack laughed, "Don't I know it!"

The thought of Rose and Jack together twisted his stomach into knots the size of Krendorian apples – and since they're the size of small Earth cars, that's a heck of a pie. Well, now would be the best time if he planned on telling River the truth. That Rose had returned, that he loved her, that they'd…

He sighed and scrubbed his hands down his face before turning into the library. "River, we need to talk."

Jack leaned over to her slowly, keeping his eyes on the Doctor. "Uh oh," he whispered. "Anything about this?"

River, who had her journal out, quickly flipped through the pages and said nervously, "Not this time."

The Doctor's soul-weary sigh caught both companions immediate attention. "Seriously, River. Jack can you give us a bit?"

Jack stood smoothly and held a hand out to help River stand. "No problem, Doc. Got things to take care of at home anyway, so I'll see you later, okay?" The Doctor missed Jack's pointed glance at River who nodded once in agreement, but watched as his friend programmed his vortex manipulator and looked up to the ceiling. "Care to give me a boost, love?"

The Doctor cocked an eyebrow at Jack, then just plain dropped his jaw when Jack teleported out of the library. 

From inside the TARDIS. 

While they were in the Time Vortex. "But… What… How… I mean…  _ What?! _ "

River just walked up to him and patted his arm, "Don't worry, sweetie. Jack and the TARDIS? It's platonic, I swear!", and laughed as she walked out and made her way to the console room.

The Doctor could only follow her, still sputtering. He  _ knew _ the TARDIS liked his companions better, and the chiming laughter in his head just made him scowl. “He’s not supposed to be able to just DO that!”

River sat on the jump seat, legs crossed and waiting for the Doctor to begin. He just leaned against the console, arms across his chest as he sighed, so she just kept smiling at him. "We're all alone, sweetie."

The Doctor just scowled at her. "Who are you really, River Song? Melody Pond. Whatever name you're going by now."

Now, River really was confused. "You know who I am, Doctor. Maybe not all the time, but you know who I am."

"Do I?"

"Better than most."

Frustration showed clearly on his face. "Then why not go home to the me that's waiting for you."

"That not how it works, Doctor, you know that." What was wrong with him?

"Really?" His hand shot out gesturing at her where she sat. "Because, once again, you had me fooled."

River shook her head at him. "Don't do this, Doctor."

"Do what? All I want are a few answers, River."

Sadness leaked through her words. "And I can't give you what you want. Not now, at least."

"Then tell me  _ something _ , River." He was desperate now.

River just sighed at him. "Alright, Doctor. I'll play your game. What do you want to know?"

"Are we married?"

She smiled mysteriously and played on his words. "Yes."

The Doctor blanched and looked away sighing, "Then it's my turn to tell you something."

Now, she was intrigued. "Really? Do tell, sweetie!"

He watched her carefully. "Have I ever told you about my past companions?"

She thought for a moment before answering. "Well, I've heard of Susan," The Doctor flinched. "Romana," and flinched again, "Martha and Donna. Some others but few names. Why?"

He swallowed around the knot in his throat. "Have I ever told you about Rose Tyler?" Just saying her name tore something inside him.

"Not much, no."

The Doctor scrubbed a hand down his face and breathed carefully. "River, you have to understand that I met her very nearly right after the end of the Time War. I saved her life, blew up her job, then she saved my life. Oh, so many times." His voice trailed off as he remembered.

"Then I owe her everything."

"To be honest, she gave me a reason to keep going when I was in my ninth incarnation, all big ears and leather. Then, I regenerated to save her life after she absorbed the Time Vortex, became Bad Wolf, and destroyed the Dalek Emperor."

River's eyes widened. She'd never heard that part. Of course, as an archeologist, she'd heard of and found traces of Bad Wolf in places that should have been impossible. Rose Tyler was the Bad Wolf. Well, that explained sooo much.

"And she was the last one I saw before I became this me."

River had been silent through his story and the Doctor was getting a bit worried. River had stopped blinking quite a while ago.

River whispered, "Did you love her?"

"I'm sorry."

River got angry then, for Rose, for herself. At the Doctor. "Don't apologize. Did. You. Love her?"

The Doctor looked her in the eyes, pain evident. "With all I am, ever was, and will be, yes."

She breathed deeply, sat up straight, but looked away from him. "I see. You loved her, but you sent her away." She stood then, making him watch her carefully. "Like a toy when you were done playing with it."

"River..."

"No. Just tell me, Doctor. What would you do if she came back?"

The Doctor stood silent.

"Doctor. Answer me."

He couldn't. He tried.

"Oh. I see. Again. She did come back." Oh, she was so close… The timelines were  _ so close _ to being just right! 

The Doctor whispered, "Yes, she did. She brought her family and she came back."

"And?" Her cocked eyebrow and stiff posture demanded truth.

"And I still love Rose Tyler."

River turned away from him to look at the console. Never before had she been more happy that the Doctor could not read her mind. Oh, how far she still had to push him though... It took every bit of willpower she had not to grin, so she channeled her excitement into a hoarse whisper. "When?"

"After I left from Christmas dinner at Amy and Rory's."

River just nodded at him.

River straightened her posture, turned from him, and walked around the console to the monitor that hung from the track around the time rotor. "Alright, then." 

The Doctor just watched her. "Alright? How is that alright?"

"It's not, but I understand." She refused to look at him or her façade would crumble. Oh, it hurt to do this to him, but it  _ was _ her move, and she had to play the part. 

She watched from the corner of his eye as his forehead crinkled in confusion. "You understand."

She braced herself and looked at him. "Yes, Doctor. I understand. Our timelines aren't exactly conducive to a normal relationship. Regardless of time travel, regeneration, or past… companions." That was the trouble of being a time traveler, especially a Time Lord. You couldn’t see your own timeline and the possibilities were truly endless.

He couldn't believe this and approached her side to confront her, to lay it out bluntly. "So you're just going to  _ accept _ this?"

River had gone back to adjusting the controls on the console in front of her, pulling the monitor down to eye level. "No. No, I'm not going to just accept it, Doctor. But I will work to forgive you."

She patted the side of the monitor and murmurs to the TARDIS, "Thanks dear," before turning back to the Doctor. She looks him in the eye for a frosty – or so she hopes it comes across that way – moment before walking around him and starts inputting coordinates into her vortex manipulator. Timeline snapped in her peripheral vision, drawing tight and twisting into themselves. Just one more push... "In the meantime, I think I'll have a chat with your Rose."

At that, River initialized the teleport sequence and disappeared.

"NO!" The Doctor scrambled for the monitor and yelled into the heavy air of the TARDIS console room. "You  _ told _ her where Rose is? You  _ KNEW _ where she was and didn't  _ tell _ me?! Please! I have to fix this!

To his astonishment the TARDIS' avatar appears in the form of Idris. "No, Doctor.  _ I _ didn't tell her where Our Rose is. River Song is exceptionally smart and she saw what we did not."

"No! I can track River! I can find them both!"

Idris sighed heavily at him and shook her head. "I tried already. As I said, River is very smart."

The Doctor screamed in frustration and threw his hammer up the staircase where it bounced down the hall. In the next instant, he was crumbled to the floor with his head in his hands. "I miss her," came in a choked whisper.

Idris, even though she had no physical body, sat next to him. "I know, My Thief," she whispered. "I know."

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River flashed into Rose's TARDIS, landing in the sitting area off the console room, and laughing insanely. “IT WORKED!”

Rose sat in one of the giant pillows, watching her friend double over, holding her sides with tears streaming from her face. She just giggled at River, shifted her feet from the end of the cushion, and let the Time Lady fall forward, still laughing in unadulterated joy.


	21. Jenny

Jenny had been looking for her father for a  _ very _ long time. After almost 60 years, she still wasn't ready to give up, but her supplies were running dangerously low and her fuel gauges read almost empty. She had no desire to float in the vacuum of space until she suffocated, regenerated, and repeated the process until she died for good.

Luckily, recent upgrades to the ship's navigation gave her a broader range of telemetry for neighboring systems. That's how she found Therone. It was a merchant-centric planet with ports at every point of every continent to welcome ships from around the galaxy. Supplies may have been little-to-none onboard, but she had plenty of cargo to trade.

"This is Captain Jenny Lourdes of the  _ Mac Tire _ requesting permission to land for refueling and trade for supplies." She didn't have to wait long before an affirmative and coordinates were transmitted.

Walking out of her ship, she patted the fuselage and instructed the techs to make sure they used "the good stuff" before she gathered her cargo and set off to find a vendor.

Trading in the jewels and precious metals she'd received as reward over the years served her well now. Only spending a handful of her 'money', she managed to fuel her ship completely and buy enough food and medical supplies to last six months out in the black.

Her wanderings brought her to a small stall tucked in an alley between two store fronts. The small woman manning the booth had to be ancient! White hair hung down to the ground and framed a face full of wrinkles. She had not one tooth in her big smile, but she was quick and had a grip that could put most sailors on the ground.

Jenny spent several hours browsing the jewelry, books, and scrolls, talking to the old woman – whose name turned out to be Priya –, swapping stories, tips, and gossip between them. When she finally told the old woman she was searching for her father, "He calls himself the Doctor," Jenny's new friend's eyes grew very wide and her croaking voice went silent.

"Do you know him? Please! If you know him, you must tell me how to find him!" Jenny went to her knees and grasped the Priya's hands as they clenched together on her lap.

"Oh, child. I'm so sorry." Priya placed a hand on Jenny's cheek. She'd grown up on the myths of the Doctor, the one that saved her world from destruction like he had so many others. When the call went out saying the Doctor was dead, she mourned with the rest of her people. "I'm sorry, Jenny, but your father died many years ago."

Jenny felt numb inside. All this time, and for nothing. She swallowed back her tears and nodded. "Thank you, Priya, for everything," and stood to leave.

Priya shot a hand out and grabbed Jenny by the wrist. "Wait! Here, take this." She pressed an intricately carved silver leaf pendant in Jenny's hand.

"Oh, Priya. Are you sure?"

Priya grinned her toothless smile. "Yes, my dear. I heard legends of the Doctor's home world of Gallifrey, saying that silver-leafed trees would shine like gold in the sunset. I've held onto this for years, but I think it's only proper for the Doctor's daughter to have it. Go, my dear, and find home."

Jenny's tears broke through her restraint. She hugged the old woman tightly before securely tucking the leaf into her jacket pocket and turning to leave.

By nightfall, her ship remained empty, so the tech crew secured the holding area around the ship and left.

Three days later, in ripped, burned, and blood-spattered clothes, she came running, followed closely by another woman. Jenny stopped long enough to instruct the four members of the tech team to lift the restraint on her ship, threw them the last of her reward money, and yelled at them to run for their lives.

Minutes later, the  _ Mac Tire _ and its passengers were cruising at top speed away from Therone. Jenny just grinned at her new friend, "Love the running!"

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Now that she knew her father was dead, Jenny decided to continue travelling, continue running, continue helping people that needed it.

Her new friend – "Call me Fred." – walked from the back of the ship, towelling her long brown hair dry. "Thank you so much, Jenny. There's no telling how much crud I've just washed off. Ugh."

Jenny laughed. "No problem, Fred!" She adjusted the ship's course to correct for the slight gravitational pull of a not-so-faraway star before saying, "You never did say why you were in there to begin with. I mean, I'm happy to help you out, but I'd like to know if you're some mass-murdering psycho."

Fred laughed before sighing, and plopped in the seat opposite Jenny's. "No, I can promise you I'm no mass-murdering psycho. No, I crash landed there about… six years ago, I think it was."

"Six years?!" Three days had been the limit to what Jenny had been willing to endure. All that just because she had two hearts. How Fred managed  _ six years _ was anybody's guess.

"Oh, yes" Fred breathed deeply, exhaling carefully as if she were afraid it would hurt. "There was a war on my planet. As far as I know, everyone died. I was President, you know." Fred smiled and nodded at Jenny's disbelief. "Yep. Deposed by a mad man that thought he was a god, but deposed nonetheless. Sometimes I wonder if Rassilon hadn't shown back up, would things have gone better. Regardless, I was responsible for calling an old friend of mine home so he could end it. We plotted behind the Lord President in secret, and made the plan to destroy everything we knew. Only my friend could do it because only he would have been strong enough to do what was right for the sake of everything else."

"What was his name?" Jenny whispered.

"I called him Theta for the longest time because the name he chose for himself was ridiculous." Fred laughed at the memory.

"Why not use his real name?"

"Because it's a secret. Names are power, Jenny."

"So, you're not really Fred?"

"Oh, no! But I do love the name, so I'll still be Fred."

"Were you looking for him out here? Is that why you crashed?"

Tears stung Fred's eyes. "No." She cleared her throat. "No. He came. He came and he saved everything but it destroyed all we knew. Moments before he locked our world in a battle for the rest of time, my best friend and bodyguard knocked me out. She threw me in one of the derelict ships and shot me out into the cosmos. She saved me."

Jenny put her arm around her friend as the grief finally poured out. "I'm so sorry, Fred," she whispered.

Fred smiled thinly at her in thanks before she continued. "The next thing I remember, the capsule crashed into the planet. I was tossed out just as it disintegrated and found there just a few hours later. They took me to the place where you found me, and decided I was alien enough to further their scientific research. They took blood, bone, hair samples, you name it. The last few years or so have been relatively peaceful. They fed me, drugged me, tried to kill me, but no more poking and prodding. That was something at least." Fred shuddered. "Hate needles."

Jenny was in shock. Fred had lived through all that and acted as if her torture were nothing. Jenny only hoped she could be that strong.

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Over the next few weeks, Jenny and Fred learned they had many of the same likes (travelling, helping, tea, and chocolate) as well as dislikes (getting shot, being shot at, being chased by people shooting at them, and pears). Jenny told Fred about her friends from Earth, Martha and Donna, and surprisingly, Fred was familiar with the planet, so she was happy to lead the way.

Fred had even managed to steal a strange wrist strap from a handsome fellow in a long blue coat that had passed out at the bar they'd wandered into. The man was going for his weapon as Jenny and Fred made it out the door. Lucky for them, the  _ Mac Tire _ wasn't far away.

"Oh, this is wonderful!" Fred danced around with her prize held high as soon as the ship broke atmo.

To Jenny's mind, it looked like an oversized wristwatch. "Why?"

"Why? Why?!" Fred was astounded. "Jenny, my friend,  _ this _ is gonna get us to our new home!"

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Fred had spent the better part of three days rewiring the wrist strap into the  _ Mac Tire _ 's navigation system. "This tech is so  _ old _ ! How in the world did he not blow himself up?!" She sighed, "That'll have to do. It'll work, but who knows how many times."

"So, what's it do?"

"It's called a vortex manipulator, and with just a few button presses, we can be at least within a few hundred thousand miles of Earth."

"No... Really?!"

"Yep!" Fred popped the 'p' in an increasingly familiar manner.

"Oh, yes! Let's go!"

"Let's see… Galactic coordinates 22-3-0-96 by 5-3, if I'm not mistaken." Fred looked to Jenny after entering the coordinates. "Ready?"

Jenny just grinned as the  _ Mac Tire _ disappeared.

As it turns out, 22-3-0-96 by 5-3, is  _ not _ Earth's galactic coordinates. It is, in fact, the precise landing coordinates for a wholly different place. But let's not tell them that for the moment.


	22. Going to The Library

After Jack left the Doctor's TARDIS, his presence on Earth was quickly found out. So, when the attack came, he was completely unprepared and loosed a very unmanly "Oof!" as he was tackled from behind and knocked to the ground.

Beautiful, emerald green eyes met his as long, dark brown hair framed their faces when the woman leaned over him. "Hi, Uncle Jack!"

"Lydia," he wheezed. "Get. Off. Please."

Wide-eyed, she squeaked out a quick "Oops!" and complied quickly, only kneeing him in the stomach twice and stepping on his thigh once.  _ Only... _

Jack just lay there, wondering (quite sarcastically) how he'd gotten so lucky in the family department, as he watched Alex and Ian rolling on the ground laughing. Rose just sat in the shade of the café giggling like mad.

"Good to see you, Captain."

"Rosie. What brings you bunch of heathens my way?" He glared at Alex who just collapsed in laughter again, and took a seat across from Rose.

"I need your help."

"Anything. You know that."

"I need you to go to the Library and save River Song."

Jack pointed finger at Rose, expertly hiding the wince at River's name, and said, "Except that." He stood to leave but froze at Rose's next statement: "I know what she is to him, Jack."

Jack just closed his eyes and mouthed, "Fuck," before he turned back to his friend. "Why her?"

"It has to be her. It's always been her."

"Not always, Rosie."

Rose's eyes started stinging and she looked away from the man she considered brother. Lydia was being chased by Alex and Ian, trying to pull her into the fountain in the middle of the square. Her squeals when Alex caught her made Rose smile a little, but when Ian stole her from Alex and pushed his brother in, she just shook her head and laughed.

"Doesn't matter anymore, Jack. The Doctor is in danger and it's her turn now."

They sat in silence for a while longer, watching three grown adults romping like puppies in the fountain. Lydia had joined her brothers in a splash war and laughed when two more children came running, wanting to play. Unfortunately, the local police showed up only moments later and broke up the party.

"He asked me about you." Jack didn't have to see her face to see the blank mask slide into place.

"I see. And?"

"I told him."

"Everything?"

"Everything."

"I see."

He hated hurting her, but he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that these two people he loved more than life were made for each other.

"When do I need to go?"

Rose just held out her hand for Jack's wrist strap and programmed the coordinates in. "Return coordinates will be different. Just go and wait for me. We won't be long; just meeting a friend."

"If I didn't love you, Rosie…"

"I know, Jack. I know. I love you, too."

Jack vanished in a flash and a crack just as Donna Temple-Noble walked around the corner, smiled, and sat in the recently vacated seat opposite Rose. "I thought he'd  _ never _ leave! Now, catch me up on just absolutely  _ everything _ !"

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Jack appeared in the Library moments before it was filled to the brim with more people, so no one realized he'd just popped out of thin air. He pushed through the crowd and saw the unmistakable spiky brown hair and pin-striped suit of the tenth Doctor. The spunky redhead that followed was just as easily recognized: Donna Noble.

His heart ached for the woman that would very soon save all of reality.

He shook himself out of his reverie and set off on his mission to save one Professor River Song. After hours of searching, he found her. Her body had been laid out on the floor at the core of the Library's main computer.

"Hello, Captain." A child's voice rang out from a tall white information node. "She's waiting."

He knew, of course, that people made 'donations' to the Library but he'd never seen a child's! 

Jack set the timer on the vortex manipulator, bent, and lifted the woman's body. He bowed his head with a quiet, "Thanks," and disappeared.

The planet he appeared on was absolutely gorgeous, but the man he spooked with his unexpected arrival terrified him so much he almost dropped River.

Jack stumbled back, pale-faced and hardly able to breathe. "You!" he gasped out.

"Hello, Captain Harkness. What brings you to my part of the universe?" The Master dropped his shears, pulled off his gloves, and grinned.

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In a smooth, graceful move, Jack swung River over one shoulder as he pulled his pistol and aimed it at the Master.

He watched as the Time Lord stopped and raised his hands, still grinning, and said, "Really, Jack? I thought you were so much better than that."

Jack just sneered at his former jailer. "You don't know me at all," and pulled the trigger.

In the nanoseconds that followed, two things happened:

The Master closed his eyes, expecting death, and spread his arms to welcome it.

And Rose appeared in between them.

Jack's horror at seeing the Master alive and well was compounded by the idea of killing his – for lack of a better term – sister.

Time slowed to a crawl. And so did the bullet.

Rose raised her hand and plucked the bullet from the air before turning to the Master.

"You look like an idiot, Koschei. Put your arms down."

Koschei just laughed and swept Rose into his arms, swinging her around in an exuberant hug. "Hello, darling!" and kissed her cheek as he set her down.

Rose grinned at her friend before turning to Jack, frozen in shock and still holding the body of Professor River Song. She grabbed Koschei's hand, pulling him forward. "I want you to meet someone, Koschei. She's a very special friend of our Doctor."

Koschei took River from Jack's arms, smirking at the Immortal man. Rose just laid a hand on Jack's cheek to draw his attention. "Rose?"

"It's okay, Jack. I promise. Koschei is safe. He's not the Master anymore, okay? He's just another smart-arse Time Lord that needs to learn the meaning of 'Enough is enough' before he gets killed.  _ Again _ ." She directed the last part to the formerly-psychotic Time Lord who just snorted as he laid River on the red grass.

"Come on, Jack. Time to meet River." Rose took Jack's hand and placed the bullet in his palm. He followed numbly.

When they reached River, Rose just tilted her head and stared, then sighed and mumbled, "Why do you have to make things so difficult?" She nudged River's leg with her foot. "River Song, wake your lazy arse up. We've got things to do!"

Jack would have protested the complete lack of respect Rose showed the dead, but when River gasped in precious oxygen and sat straight up, the complaint died on his lips. Completely at a loss, Jack whimpered and sat down, hard.

River smiled up at Rose, "Hello, sweetie," and turned her head to see the Master crouched beside her. River paled so much Jack thought she might pass out. "Oh my god… But… You're  _ dead! _ "

Kochei smirked and pointed at her. "So are you, my dear professor."


	23. Donna

Donna Temple-Noble was a hell of a woman and has never been one to give up easily. Unfortunately, when your husband of just slightly less than a year leaves you for his secretary, it hurts. She would have fought a lot harder for him if his new lover hadn't been one of her (now former) best friends. But, she'd be the bigger person and be happy for them.

Besides, Michael was a great guy. For the most part. 

After many tears and fights and much begging and shouting, Donna and Shaun divorced and split everything 50/50, including their winnings from the lottery they'd won off the wedding-gift ticket.

Six months after the divorce was final, Donna decided she'd had enough moping about the place, packed a few cases, and hopped the first flight out of England. When her flight landed her in Naples, she got a hotel and played tourist.

During the tour through the ruins of Pompeii, she'd overheard one of the people in her group spout out "Veni, Vidi, Vici!" and promptly burst into tears. She couldn't understand why.

The headaches started just weeks later.

Some nights were peaceful and her dreams were quiet. Other times, fire would roar through her, lighting up her veins and pulling her screaming from sleep. Some mornings, she would wake ready to tackle the day; some mornings, she'd wake in tears and with a feeling of grief that seemed never-ending.

Donna thought she was losing her mind.

After her most recent episode at the spa in Switzerland, she'd come home to Chiswick to rest, but the headaches-turned-migraines got worse. On a rare good day, she'd taken her grandfather out for lunch at a quaint little café in town. They'd enjoyed their meals and were laughing at the antics some tourists had gotten into on her travels.

When they stood to leave, Donna's purse dropped from the back of the chair but was caught by a singularly gorgeous man in an old-fashioned WWII greatcoat. His cheeks dimpled as he smiled at her and handed over her purse. Donna blushed beet red, stuttered a quick, "Thanks, Captain," and turned to leave.

She never saw the man's smile fall in shock as his complexion went milk-white. He'd disappeared by the time Donna got to the front door of the café, stopped, and fell over in a dead faint.

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Captain Jack Harkness materialized in Gea's console room and immediately yelled for Rose.

"Jack? What in the world…?" The petite blonde had come hurrying at his yell, holding one shoe she'd yet to put on in her hand. She stopped when she saw her friend looking so scared. "Jack. Tell me."

He swallowed carefully, making fists of his clenched hands. "It's Donna."

"Let's go."

Both vanished in the sharp crackle of light and sound.

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Royal Hope Hospital had never seen a case like Donna Noble. All blood work came back perfect. All the tests they'd run came back normal. Except the CT scan. Her brain lit up like Christmas. Normally dormant areas would flux between normal resting and phase to highly active in seconds.

She was burning.

Jack and Rose landed in the waiting room, scaring Wilfred Mott into dropping the hat he'd been worrying.

"Oh! It's you again! Oh, please, can you help her? Can you help my Donna?" The old man's teary eyes begged Rose for something good. He couldn't lose Donna, not after everything they'd been through.

Rose hugged the man tightly. "Of course, Wilf. Of course. I'll do my best, okay?"

"Thank you, my darling. Thank you."

Rose turned to Jack. "Stay with him?"

"Sure, Rosie."

Without another word, Rose sprinted from the room to find the most important woman in the universe.

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Wires and tubes and machines hung on and around Donna Noble ticking away the life she was still fighting for.

"Donna Noble," she murmured. "We meet again." She approached the redhead's bed and could almost feel the psychic scream of pain as Donna synapses fired and misfired.

Rose reached up and placed one hand over the center of Donna's chest, breathed deep, then thrust her hand down firmly over the woman's heart.

For a long moment, nothing happened.

Her skin slowly grayed and the life the machines tried so desperately to keep pumping into her began leaking from her as if her body was rejecting it all. A light golden glow began to glimmer under her skin, moving and dancing and burning.

Slowly and carefully, Rose used her free hand to remove the wires and cables and needles and such. A fine layer of dust and ash built over Donna's body, thickening with each labored breath until, finally, those stuttered gasps stopped. Her heart shuddered, thumped, and stopped. Donna Noble was dead.

The golden lights that had been slowly dying under Donna's skin gathered around Rose's hand, trying to find a new place to call home. These leftover Huon particles would have been interred with Donna's remains, absorbed into the Earth and recycled as fuel for the planet.

Fortunately for Donna, she still had lots to do before that day came.

Rose took a deep breath and gathered the energy inside her to mingle with what remained of Donna, and melded the human part of the woman's mind with the Time Lord portion the Doctor had locked away. Since she was dead, there would be no danger of her mind burning, but it did mean that Rose would still have to work quickly.

The Huon particles mixed with a little bit of Vortex energy Rose released, ensuring Donna's body would be able to withstand the stresses put on it by her new hybrid mind.

The dust and ash that covered Donna started to swirl around her, pulling and pushing, ebbing and flowing, crackling with the force of molecules crashing together. The glow grew brighter and shot rays of energy from the maelstrom. Rose pulled her hand back and waited.

With a final deafening boom, the cloud that was once Donna Noble expanded to three times its size, burned brighter than the noon sun, and crashed back into her body with the force of a small sonic pulse.

With a wild-eyed gasp, Donna shot up from her prone position on the hospital bed, gulping oxygen greedily.

"Hi, Donna." Rose waved from her spot on the floor where she'd slid down the wall to sit. "Welcome back."

Donna could only gape.

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Donna watched as Jack vanished from the café in a flash and a crack, then walked around the corner, smiled, and sat in the recently vacated seat opposite Rose. "I thought he'd  _ never _ leave! Now, catch me up on just absolutely  _ everything _ !"

After that day in the hospital, Rose had charged Donna with a task: Become her liaison with UNIT on Earth. Since then, Donna had had the privilege to work with Brigadier General Lethbridge-Stewart until his death just a few weeks before.

When she told Rose of the man's death, it brought both women to tears.

"I swear to you, Rose. Next time I see that idiot Spaceman, I'm gonna smack him one good, I am. Alistair waited for him. Always had the nurse pull an extra brandy in case he decided to show up. When he didn't, you could see how much it hurt him, but he'd just wave it off like the good soldier he was." Donna wiped the tears from her face and took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. "He was a lot like my dad. I miss him."

Rose hugged her friend. "I know, Donna. I know."

Rose's children had come earlier to greet their aunt, but had gone back to Gea to get changed into dry clothes. The plan for the evening was to have dinner with Donna and her family.

Dinner went well and Sylvia was as polite as she could be – which said a lot to Donna's frame of mind. Later that evening, after everyone had left to find their respective beds, Donna and Rose sat outside on the patio, enjoying a glass of wine in the cool English autumn.

"You know, Donna, if you want to come with us, you should be able to pretty soon."

Shocked, Donna almost choked on her wine. "Really? What about himself? What's he gonna say?"

Rose cocked an eyebrow, but kept her gaze on the night sky. "Doesn't matter what he says. You know what I've been doing and I'll be damned if he's gonna bugger it all up for the sake of whatever excuse he can think up." She turned her gaze to her friend. "I'm not doing this just for him. It's for all of us, you included."

"Oh." Donna looked away, hiding the gleam in her eye and sudden excited flutter in her hearts.

Rose sat forward then, understanding flooding her as she whispered, "You thought I was gonna leave you here, on Earth, didn't you?" Silence. "Donna, please! Did you think I would do that to you?"

"No." Donna clutched her glass firmly as tears clogged her throat. She couldn't deny the thought had crossed her mind more than once, but she'd hoped… "I just… I mean, when everything is said and done, you and the Doctor will be together again, and you have your family, so…"

Rose quickly stood and crossed to her friend. "Donna, you  _ are _ family. I love you, my children love you, and regardless of what the future may bring, I  _ know _ the Doctor loves you. I will  _ never  _ abandon you, Donna Noble.  _ Never. _ "

Donna swallowed around the knot in her throat, nodded, and was immediately engulfed in a massive hug. " _ Thank you," _ she whispered.

Later, it was decided that Donna would stay on Earth for a while longer. Her grandfather was old and she wanted to be there for him. "Besides, mum would go spare if I left again." She hugged her friend once more, pulling a promise to visit more often.

"Forever, Donna." A quick grin and Rose Tyler was off once more, leaving her friend with the knowledge that everything would be okay in the end.


	24. Fred

" _ That _ is not Earth," Jenny pointed to the planet on her viewscreen.

"Huh." Fred just stared. Well,  _ that _ was unexpected. "Well, we can try again if you're up for it."

Sparks flew from the console below Jenny's hands making her yelp and jump back. Both women sighed at the small plume of smoke.

"Or not."

The navigation system was shot. One little jump halfway across the known universe and now she had no clue where they were.

She didn't hear Fred gasp but she did feel the iron grip around her arm that got her attention.

"Land. Please, Jen. We need to land." Fred's hoarse whisper ghosted chills down Jenny's spine, but it was the look in her eye – that yearning, desperate plea – that had Jenny nodding and moving to engage the ship's atmospheric reentry sequencing.

Fred's hands were pressed against the almost-glass of the ship's forward window.

There.

Just there.

She'd felt the press of Time against the sensitive nerves of her mind, stretching the moment, then releasing it so very lightly. Had she not been trained as a child to be aware of the feeling, she would have missed it completely.

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Jenny maneuvered the  _ Mac Tire _ to the position Fred pointed out and set down much more gently than she expected. Before the ship had even finished settling, Fred had torn out of the bridge and ran to the loading dock with Jenny hot on her heels. "Fred! Wait! You don't know what's out there!"

She could barely make out the words her friend murmured but easily picked up, "Oh please oh please oh please."

The cargo bay door had barely opened enough before Fred was out, Jenny tumbling after her and both women landing face first in the red grass. Jenny managed to pick herself up without harming her friend, but as Fred sat up, she burst into tears.

"Fred?" She didn't know what to do! She'd never had someone travel with her, certainly not someone she liked so well. "Fred, what's wrong?!"

Fred just threw her head back and laughed through the tears before yelling at the top of her lungs, "I CAN HEAR THEM!" She leaned forward then, clutching handfuls of the red grass, and whispering, "They're not gone. I can hear them. I can hear them."

"What the hell?!" A man's voice barked from the side of the  _ Mac Tire _ , jerking both women's attention around. A handsome blond man appeared. He was obviously used to working outside if the golden tan staining his skin was any indication. His bright brown eyes widened when he saw Fred and he stumbled back, crashing into the back of Jenny's ship.

"Romana."

"Master… No! No, you can't be here! NO!" Fred/Romana jerked to her feet, placing her own body in front of Jenny, shielding the younger woman in case of attack.

The Master held his hands out in front of him, palms out in supplication, showing he was unarmed. "No no no! Romana, no! I swear, it's not like that! Please, just let me explain!"

Romana couldn't believe he was still alive. After all those years on Gallifrey, and then the Time Lord Council resurrected him?! She'd conceed he was an excellent soldier, but only when let loose to kill as he pleased, but Rassilon had lost all control of the mad man.

She pointed a shaking finger at him. "You... You should have died with Gallifrey and the rest of our people."

Neither heard Jenny's gasp of shock.

The Master fell to his knees in the red grass. "Romana, I swear on my life, on everything..." He spread his arms wide, pleading with her. "My Lady President, I pledge you my lives, my sword, my loyalty for the rest of Time. Please, Romana. Please believe me." He kept his arms spread wide, beseeching her forgiveness. "I know what I did was wrong. All my life I've been wrong. It was Rassilon, Romana. He put those damnable drums in my head. But, I swear to you, things are different.  _ I'm _ different." He thumped his chest desperately, pleading with Romana to believe him. "I tried to bring them back. I would have opened up Hell and brought back Gallifrey. But  _ he _ stopped me. He  _ always _ stopped me."

Romana whispered from numb lips, "Doctor."

"No!"

Romana turned to see Jenny shaking with tears streaming down her cheeks. "He's dead. The Doctor is dead, Romana."

"What?" She turned fully now. "How do you know that?"

"A woman on Therone. She said he died years ago. That's who I was looking for all that time. He's my father."

"What?!" echoed from both the Master and Romana.

She just couldn't take any more. Covering her face with her hands to sob, Jenny fell to her knees, rocking back and forth as Romana wrapped her arms around her.

Romana felt the Master's hand on her shoulder and stiffened, instinctively jerking away. He held his hands up, backed up a step, and spoke low, "Let me help, Romana. Please. He was my friend, above all else. This is the least I can do."

Romana just clenched her eyes shut, holding Jenny tightly and nodded. "Jen. Come on, sweetheart. We're going with the Master."

"Koschei."

Romana turned questioning eyes on his, surprise obvious in her gaze as she nodded again. "Let's go with Koschei, Jen."

The Time Lord and Lady bundled up the Doctor's daughter, supporting her as they walked to the large house they'd spotted from the air.

They heard laughter from several men and women booming from the house. A quick glance at Koschei showed he was blushing. "Sorry. Company dropped by."

Company? He had  _ friends, _ too? Would wonders never cease…

Koschei pushed the door open and guided the women inside. Romana froze in the door when she saw the blonde. "Oh, you have  _ got _ to be kidding me."

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Rose watched, astonished as Romanadvoratrelundar walked into Koschei's home with another girl tucked under her arm. She stood and moved quickly to help. "Hello again, Romana." Rose called her daughter, "Lydia! Make room on the couch and grab a blanket and something warm for them."

Koschei looked between the two women, pointed finger dancing between them. "How…?"

"Later, Koschei. Come on, Romana, let's get her settled. What happened?"

Romana's story took much longer to tell since she now had people that knew the horrors of the Time War. Only when she reached the point where she'd been imprisoned did Rose move. She watched the woman's face grow dark and hard, her hands curling into fists and promising retribution.

Rose stood without a word and approached her son, "Ian. Take Alex and go find this planet. DON'T land. Just get Gea to track it, see what's been going on. We'll deal with this later."

Romana still sat with Jenny, rubbing the silent girl's back in comfort as Rose crouched in front of her and took her cold cup of tea to place it on the low table behind her. "Jenny, sweetheart, I need you to talk to me. What happened?"

Romana answered for her. "She's the Doctor's daughter." Shock lit Rose's bright brown gaze, then utter joy as she swung back to drink in the girl's face.

"Jenny? Is that really you?" she whispered.

For the first time in hours, Jenny moved. She looked deep into Rose and recognized a spark in the back of her mind that swirled and danced and warmed at her recognition. Her eyes grew impossibly wide.

"Oh, god, I heard so much about you!" Rose covered her mouth with one hand and touched Jenny's cheek with the other. "He thought you were brilliant! Oh, Jenny!" Rose pulled the girl forward into a massive hug.

Confused, Romana looked to Lydia for an explanation. None would be forthcoming anytime soon if the tears and grins were anything to consider. So, she waited.

When Rose finally pulled back, Jenny whispered, "He's dead, mum. The Doctor's dead. And I looked for him for so long!" New tears burned down her cheeks.

"Oh, Jenny, no! No, sweetheart, he's not dead! I promise you that!"

While Rose explained, Lydia refreshed everyone's drinks and even brought fresh biscuits from Gea. She'd heard the stories before and would be more than happy to open her hearts to more family. Because that's what they were. This was her family. A grin so large it felt like it would break her face made her dance in glee as she bumped Gea's front door shut.

Rose held a captive audience from her first word until the end. By then, River had woken from her nap and joined the group for dinner. Tears became laughter and rang out through the house.

Later, Romana found Koschei on the front porch enjoying a cup of coffee and watching the dancing flutterwings and bright fireflies. "Hello, Koschei."

"My Lady." He started to bow to her, but she stopped him.

"No. Gallifrey is gone." Both flinched at her words, but couldn't deny the truth. "It's gone, but we're here. I'd like to be your friend, if you'll let me." She stepped back and held out a hand.

He watched in amazement before looking her in the eye, something he never would have done at home. "Hello, Romana." He took her hand, pulled her into a hug, and whispered roughly, "Welcome to the family. Welcome home."

Rose, Alex, Ian, and Lydia, Jack, Jenny, Koschei and River. Her family.


	25. A Resting Place

During the days and weeks that followed Romana and Jenny's arrival, Lydia and Jenny had grown inseparable, and Jack had fallen in love.

Every time Jenny walked into a room, he couldn't take his eyes off her. If this was even a fraction of what Rose felt for his friend, he was in trouble.

Oh, the Doctor would  _ kill _ him. For sure and completely this time...

Rose watched her family blossom and grow closer than ever. She saw the look Jack gave Jenny, as well as the ones Koschei gave River. Romance was blooming and she just loved it. Oh, how John would have loved to see this.

The thought brought a sharp pang in her heart. She hadn't hurt over her husband's death in centuries, but seeing their family so… connected? It would have healed more in him than he ever realized was broken.

River plopped down in the chair beside her. "Taking a trip down memory lane?"

"How'd you know?"

"You get the same look my mum gets when she would tell me stories of her travels with the Doctor."

Rose chuckled. "I'll take that as a compliment, then."

The women laughed together and sat in silence for a moment before River asked quietly, "Did you know this would happen?"

A small smile graced plump lips. "Not a clue."

"Good." River sighed after a moment. "You know, I loved the Doctor."

"I know."

"But not like this."

An arched eyebrow prompted River to continue. "Something in him calls to me, Rose. Like nothing I've ever felt. I hold his hand and it's like… like…"

"Like it was made for your hand only."

"Exactly!" Joy at finally finding the right description lit up River's face and she pointed a finger at Rose. "Exactly." She settled back in her chair to watch Jack and Koschei walking the grounds. Her gaze met his immediately and both grinned, lost to each other for a moment.

"You should tell him."

"What?!" Shock jerked her attention back to Rose.

"You should tell him, River. Because he needs you as much as you need him. Because it's right. And because there are still things that need to happen."

River's sad gaze went back to Koschei, who frowned and excused himself from Jack to approach her.

"Tell him, River. Before you can't anymore."

River heard the sadness in Rose's tone and stood silently to go to Koschei. She took his hand as soon as she was close enough. "Can we talk?"

His frown was one of concern as he searched her gaze for some clue as to her distress. "Of course. Come on."

They walked in silence for a while, meandering between the baby TARDISes and checking their growth, still hand-in-hand.

"Everyone thinks I'm the Doctor's wife."

"I know."

"I'm not." Koschei stopped, pulling her back around to face him as she continued. "I've loved him and hated him all my life."

"Why are you telling me this, River?" His whispered words tore at her.

"Because I was wrong."

"River?"

It seemed words were just getting in the way, so River did what she did best: sneak attack. She jerked him forward and he wrapped his arms around her to keep them both upright. Her own arms went around his neck and pulled him down in a fiery kiss that sent her nerves screaming in ecstasy.

Koschei couldn't believe it. He had Professor River Song in his arms of her own free will. He opened his lips to taste more of her and immediately groaned as her own unique flavor bombarded his senses.

River thrust her hands into his hair grabbing and pulling his head back to bite his lip and suck it between her teeth. He growled at her and it made her shiver to the soles of her feet.

She released his mouth. "Koschei. I love you."

He gaped at her declaration, frozen where he stood. His silence started to worry her and she moved to pull away, but his arms tightened around her.

"Do you mean it?" His voice was hoarse and rough. "River, please. Did you mean it?"

"Of course, you daft man."

"Then say it again." He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to hers.

"I love you."

"Koschei."

River smiled at him. "I love you, Koschei."

This time, when he pressed his lips to hers, it was soft and warm and full of everything they'd both been searching for.

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Alex came jogging up to his mother, a worried frown on his face. "Mum. We've got something."

Rose shot to her feet. "Show me."

In Gea's console room, Ian and Alex stood sentry over their mother as she browsed the details of Therone. "Oh god, what have they done?" fell into the silence.

"Romana!"

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Romana couldn't believe what she was seeing. All those years, held prisoner and experimented on by those lunatics.

They'd been trying to clone her at first, but Time Lord genetics were loomed together, not brewed in a test tube. Then, they'd taken sample after sample, trying to find out what gave her the second heart. That's how they discovered the excess artron energy her cells held.

Artron energy allowed a Time Lord the ability to regenerate, was used as a source of energy in a TARDIS, and helped seal the bond between ship and pilot. This energy source could be leaked to other travelers, as Rose well knew. It also made them a target for those creatures that fed on artron energy, such as the Groske.

These scientists (and Romana used the term loosely) had harvested her artron energy without her knowing, enhanced it, then grafted her cells onto Therone cells, trying to grow their own regenerative soldiers, or failing that, some mutated version of a super soldier.

"Oh god, Rose. What have they done?" Her knees went weak and she would have hit the floor if Ian hadn't caught her. He sank to the floor with her, holding her securely.

"We'll fix this Romana. I promise you, we'll fix this." Rose turned to Alex. "Gather everyone. We need a plan."

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After River and Koschei disappeared, Lydia and Jenny made themselves at home in the shade of a tree Jack decided to nap under. He'd spread his coat wide and laid back with not a care in the world. No one would have guessed that he kept a constant eye on the two women less than ten feet away.

He must have fallen asleep because when Alex came running and calling his name, he jerked awake, immediately battle-ready.

"Jack! Mum needs everyone back at Gea. Ian and Romana are already there, and Lydia's on her way. Have you seen Jenny, River, or Koschei?"

"Leave River and Koschei alone for a bit. We'll catch them up later." Jack almost chuckled when Alex's ears turned bright red. "I'll go hunt down Jen."

"Thanks, Uncle Jack." A grateful smile graced Alex's lips before he loped back to the TARDIS.

Jack found Jenny minutes later as she exited the house. "Jen, Rose needs us back at the TARDIS. You ready to go?"

Wide-eyed excitement lit her up from the inside out. "Really? I can go?"

Jack flushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Um… Yeah. We're not gonna leave you here, Jen."

With a squeal, Jenny threw herself in Jack's arms and wrapped her own around his neck. Jack hugged her tightly reflexively and both froze.

He pulled back a little to look at her while she did the same, neither removing themselves from the embrace.

"God, you're beautiful," escaped from him before he could stop it and he brushed a strand of hair from her cheek to tuck it behind her ear.

"Thank you," whispered Jenny.

Before he could talk himself out of it, with every reason known to the universe why he shouldn't do it, Jack leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Jenny's lips. Her own parted on a moan and pulled him closer.

Jack would have happily died – for good – right there, wrapped in his own gorgeous blonde. Oh, but what a way to go.

Go.

Right.

He pulled back from her lips, groaning at the loss of contact, and pressed his cheek to her forehead. "We gotta go, Jen."

"Okay."

He kissed the top of her head, far away from her so tempting mouth. "Finish this later?"

She smiled up at him. Cheeky minx. "You better believe it, Captain."

On their walk back to Gea, Jack and Jenny ran into Koschei and River, and Jack stayed uncharacteristically quiet. Not one comment about their disheveled hair or Koschei's inside-out jumper. Not even a peep about the grins that just would  _ not _ fade. He would have worried about himself if his every thought wasn't on the blonde beside him.

"Time to go, guys!"

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Moods quickly turned somber as Rose explained the situation and turned to River. "It's your move again."

Koschei squeezed her hand in support. "Time can be rewritten. We used to do it all the time. But sometimes it’s best to make sure it goes right the first time around. Let’s do this.”


	26. Therone

Therone's Supreme Chancellor, Djerin Marke, was the highest seat of governing power on Therone, and he was not an imbecile. As a matter of fact – and contradictory to what some of his magistrates believed – he was one of the most brilliant men on the planet. Unfortunately, his common sense took a flying leap out the nearest window six cycles ago when a shuttle pod crashed into his moorin fields.

Each moorin tree had been genetically engineered to grow faster, larger, and better with almost no tending. He'd even spliced them with a small bit of another fruit, the gaber, to provide almost triple the nutritional value.

All but fourteen of the fifty-three seedlings had died, withering almost overnight. The surviving plants were watched carefully over the next thirty-two cycles to ensure they would thrive.

When no sign of mutation or death were found, each was carefully transplanted to his personal grounds to be watched by his most trusted scientists and guards.

Should they thrive and be able to reproduce, Djerin would be hailed as a savior to the areas of Therone where food was scarce and people were starving daily.

The shuttle pod destroyed all of that. The resulting fire from the impact site had destroyed almost the entire crop of the juicy sweet fruit. Then, what fire did not destroy, the attempts to contain the blaze did. Djerin had nothing to show for over three decades of work.

He ordered the alien to be taken to Scerbin to be held until further notice. Four turns later, his head researcher, Shia, had come running, reporting the amazing healing factors of the female in their 'company'.

"Really? Fascinating." A sudden calm had settled over the Supreme Chancellor, and Shia – knowing exactly what Djerin's interest meant – quivered in excitement.

"Shall I prepare her, sire?" Shia bowed low, silently begging the Goddess for Djerin's approval.

Djerin smiled, slow and dark. "Yes. Let's do just that, Shia. And you'll help me regain what  _ it _ has cost me."

"Sire." Shia bowed low, backed from the room and all but ran back to the lab.

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Romana spent hours describing to her new family how she'd been experimented on. Each new tale she spun steeled their resolve to never let anything like it happen again.

"They took from me for years. Blood, bone, hair, skin. You name it. They harvested it. At one point, they drained me of so much blood, I almost regenerated. Then, about two years after the crash, I was drained again and I entered a healing sleep. They thought I'd died." Romana took a deep breath to steady herself. "I guess they panicked and tried to resuscitate me, but my body was already so weak, I finally did regenerate. Things got interesting then, but I had no idea…"

Rose leaned forward in her seat and held her friend's clenched fist. "Romana. We'll fix this. I promise."

The Time Lady clenched her eyes shut as tightly as her fists were clenched and nodded.

Rose stood and motioned to Jack to follow, leaving Ian to care for Romana. "Jack, do we have anything else? Anything at all?"

Jack scrubbed a hand down his face and leaned back against the console. The empty room echoed his frustration. "Alex managed to find one hybrid that survived the splicing. There's no telling how many they tried to create."

Rose was almost trembling in anger. "Seven years, Jack. Seven years  _ for her _ , at least."

He placed a hand on Rose's shoulder, whispering, "I know, Rosie. I know. But like you said, we'll fix this."

Rose nodded and bit her lip to keep from crying out.

Alex had turned up quite a bit about Therone, its history, and its government. Unfortunately, it also revealed their science division's not-so-dirty secrets: genetic manipulation and cloning.

Less than two weeks after Romana's capsule had crashed on Therone, she'd been injected with enough drugs to kill a typical human. Being a Time Lady, she was able to filter out the poison to her system relatively quickly. But that's what the researchers had wanted.

They'd been 'harvesting' cells from Romana, trying to make better soldiers. Trying to extend their own miserably short lifetimes. Working on immortality, but only for those that could afford it.

After Romana regenerated, they'd continued their work, but focus was immediately shifted: Creating a hybrid Time Lord/Therone child. And it worked.

Romana's triple-helix TNA was fairly bursting with artron energy after she regenerated, thereby allowing the scientists to manipulate the cellular structure to splice in Therone genes. Then, using the technology and advances Supreme Chancellor Djerin developed, they'd matured the cells at such a rapid pace, the hybrids were effectively 'born' less than three months later, ready for training to become the best soldiers that quadrant of the galaxy had ever seen.

"We're going after them, Jack. They had no right to do this."

"I agree," Alex chimed from the balcony. "Got a plan, mum?"

Rose smiled at her eldest son. "None at all. You?"

He grinned down as he pushed from the railing and made his way downstairs. "Oh yeah. We go in, straight to the heart of the operation, blow the place sky high, and 'dethrone' that bastard that calls himself Supreme Chancellor."

Jack grinned. "I like it."

Rose rolled her eyes at them. "You would, Jack, but honestly, there's got to be a better way."

Both men huffed, knowing Rose's pacifist ways had carried over from her time with the Doctor, but also knew they were successful most of the time. "Fine," Alex muttered. "We'll do it Ian's way." He crossed his arms and settled into the Captain's chair as his brother walked in.

"You know it'll work, brother."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Oh, stop pouting. You look just like Dad when you do that."

"Time Lords do  _ not _ pout." Alex couldn't help but grin at his mother's snorting laugh.


	27. Let's think about this...

Romana found Rose later that 'evening' at her usual spot in the kitchen, nursing a steaming cup of tea. "Can't sleep?"

"Not so much these days. You?"

"Tried. Nightmares."

Rose nodded, completely understanding.

"I was thinking though. Before we do anything else, has anyone thought about the Shadow Proclamation?"

Rose furrowed her eyebrows, not sure where her friend was heading. "No, but then they've changed a lot. Too much really, since Gallifrey fell. Why?"

"Well, the way I see it, we're all refugees, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, if they're still as bureaucratic as I remember, we may be able to get their assistance. No need following  _ completely _ in the Doctor's rebellious footsteps."

Intrigued, Rose sat forward. "Overthrowing a corrupt government, starting the rebuild of an almost-extinct race, and doing it legally? Boy, do I wish you'd been around when I met the Doctor all those years ago."

Both women laughed, remembering how jeopardy-friendly their friend truly was.

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Hours later, Rose and her family found themselves in attendance of the Shadow Architect. After recalling an abbreviated version of the last few weeks, were then promised the full backing of the Shadow Proclamation and all its allies.

"As an endangered species, we would be remiss in our duties if we did not assist. However, our protection can only extend to include established Time Lords and their families."

Romana stepped forward then, regal in her bearing and stature.  _ This _ was the woman that had led Gallifrey and she would do everything in her power to protect those she loved. "Then, Architect, as former Lady President of Lost Gallifrey, I take Rose Tyler-Noble as sister of my hearts, heir and successor to the title of Lady of the House of Heartshaven."

Unblinkingly, the Shadow Architect watched Romana for a moment, then bowed her head to acknowledge the declaration before turning to an astounded Rose. "And do you accept?"

"I do," she whispered. "I accept on behalf of myself, my children, and all those to come."

"So be it. Your petition is approved, Lady Romana." The Architect bowed her head again, then turned and seated herself at her desk. "Now, these hybrids. If any survive, do you plan to destroy them?"

Horrified, Romana and Rose were quick to voice a loud, "NO!"

The Architect arched an eyebrow at them. "Then you have chosen to rehabilitate them as needed and rebuild your race?"

Romana, looking a bit shaken, looked to Rose.

"Ma'am," Rose began, "As Romana said, Gallifrey is lost. Only three true and original Gallifreyans still exist. These hybrids are the creation of Lady Romana and a race we have little knowledge of. But they will be given the freedom to choose." Romana nodded in agreement. "The Time Lord race is not extinct, but we will be rebuilding an almost-lost history. "

The Architect nodded approvingly. "And where will your people call 'home'?"

Rose smiled. "Galactic coordinates 22-3-0-96 by 5-3 from galactic center. A small world, but one we love."

The Shadow Architect smiled – a somewhat frightening thing to behold – and tapped a series of commands on her desk console. "Very well. As of this day, the Time Lord race is officially recognized once more within the Shadow Proclamation." She smiled softly. "Welcome back."

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The Architect watched from the balcony overlooking the entry to the Shadow Proclamation's main dome. Just as the Doctor had done many years before, Rose Tyler had landed her TARDIS in the hallway. It was almost eerie how the two ships seemed to land in the exact same spot and in the exact same position.

To be perfectly honest, she hadn't wanted to commandeer the Doctor's ship when he'd last come. So she was more than pleased that he'd managed to rectify the situation with Davros before things got too out of hand.

The Architect liked reality. She'd grown quite attached to it.

The sound of footsteps echoed behind her. "I'm very glad to hear Gallifreyans, Time Lords, and Time Ladies will be joining us once more. I believe I have you to thank for it, too."

Rose stopped at the Architect's side, watching her family laugh and eat and relax. "I only helped to maintain the timelines, ma'am. Nothing more."

The Architect hummed her approval and silence reigned for a few moments before she turned her red-eyed gaze to Rose. "It will take many months, if not years, for an investigation into Therone's actions to be validated. Then, it could be even longer to locate and withdraw any hybrids."

Rose said nothing but the tension radiating off her was almost palpable.

"Once the investigation is complete, a full examination of the hybrids will need to be performed, including determining what danger they might pose. After what may have been years of experimentation, they may clash with our methods."

No response.

The Architect sighed. "Would be quite a shame if they'd disappeared by the time the investigators arrived. Such a shame, indeed."

A small smile graced Rose's lips. "I could imagine."

The Architect stood a moment more, indulging in the trusted silence, before turning to leave. She stopped after only a few steps and merely turned her head to peer over her shoulder. "Does he know, Wolf?"

Her grin widened even more, becoming almost as predatory as her nickname, as Rose answered. "He will."


	28. Rebellion

Gea landed quietly along the perimeter wall outside of Therone's capitol city, Jabrese, and as her occupants departed, cloaked herself from prying eyes.

The plan was simple: Ask nicely for access into the highly secure Science Division; Find a map that leads straight to the hybrids and offer them freedom; Escape with said hybrids unscathed; Walk calmly back to Gea; Get home in time for tea.

Jack was still giggling.

Rose honestly couldn't blame him – her sides still hurt from laughing so hard – but to be honest, it was so outrageous, it could work.

Alex and Ian headed off to the city center to "play tourist", while Jack, Rose, and River did what companions did best: They wandered off.

In quick order, a few well-placed and carefully worded inquiries found Rose and Company bound discreetly but securely, and being led along by several very large, very muscular guards. After almost an hour of walking, they were placed in a well-appointed library and told to "Wait here." The lock slid into place, the thick thump sounding almost ominous.

"Well! That was nice! Not creepy, at all." Jack huffed to himself, shifted his shoulders, and shook off the restraints, grinning to his friends as he released them. "So, rebellion leader or political coup?"

Rose peered around the room, gravitating toward the desk in the corner. "Looks like a little of both, to be honest," she murmured. "I wonder how long the people have been fighting back."

"Almost three years." The voice echoing through the room boomed deep and resonant. (Rose actually  _ saw _ Jack's pupils dilate.) "And you are correct: It is a little of both." Their host, a tall, lithe gentleman with pale skin, black hair, and eyes as blue as Earth's sapphires, smiled at Rose and held out a hand in greeting. "Ranwenn, First Minister to the Supreme Chancellor of Therone, at your service my lady."

"Minister." Rose nodded to the man, but kept her distance. Minister Ranwenn merely nodded his head and continued into the room.

"I apologize for any inconvenience my guards may have raised. It was not my intent to alarm you in any way."

"Then why the show of force?" Jack crossed his arms over his chest and glared, daring the man to lie.

"I have eyes and ears across the province. You just happened to be in the right place at the right time if your goal is the same as mine."

Rose arched her brow at him. "Which is?"

Ranwenn sat, steepling his hands under his chin. "Djerin Marke has been Supreme Chancellor for decades and, with the 'help' of Chief Advisor Kjisnaofendwe, they've done nothing but harm the people of Therone. Under Marke's rule in the last five years, our food production alone has been cut by more than fifty percent, innocent civilians are kidnapped off the street and forced to labour. The people -  _ my people -  _ are dying and I cannot stand by and watch it continue." He sighed and ran his hand through his hair before turning an imploring gaze to Rose. "My lady, please. If you can help us, we would be forever in your debt."

"Before we agree to anything, you must tell me everything you know about Marke's experiments on my friend."

"Yes, of course!"

They spoke into the wee hours of the morning, trading secrets and information, then making plans and contingencies and last-resorts. It was there they discovered the only surviving hybrid had perished just a few months before. According to Minister Ranwenn, she had been injured during training. "It was not a serious injury, but as the Chancellor's pet, nothing was too minor. She was transported to the medical facility, treated, and released. The physician believed she may have had a peculiar reaction to one of the medications. She had trouble breathing, fell unconscious, then began seizing and foaming at the mouth before she just... stopped. She died moments later. I'm sorry."

Tears threatened for a moment, but Rose gathered herself together enough to thank Ranwenn.

"The night grows short, my friends and we have much to do. Please, let me offer you a place to rest?"

"Thank you, Minister. That would be lovely."


	29. Infiltration and Stabilization

Three weeks after landing on Therone, soldiers march through the rubble-littered streets searching for vagrants, citizens, and rebels alike. Citizens were arrested, harassed, beaten, and threatened at all hours of the day and night. Fighting erupted in skirmishes across the country, and those supporting Marke's removal from power were steadily growing in number. Several factions had joined forces to repel the Supreme Chancellor's military forces. Both sides were equally prepared to defend and attack, even going so far as to be willing to obliterate their own forces if it means destroying the enemy. The death toll grew steadily and staggeringly.

Desperate measures were taken when communications were disabled between Ranwenn and the leaders of the three largest factions. River and Jack volunteered to re-establish contact and, using Jack's vortex manipulator, were very successful very quickly.

Rose, along with Ian and Alex, manage to infiltrate the main computer system in Jabreze. There, they found and downloaded all information regarding Romana's capture and treatment, the life cycle and details of the hybrid children, and the autopsy report of Shiraj Piet. Final lab results showed a massive allergic reaction to Therone's equivalent of aspirin was responsible for the death of the only hybrid to survive into adulthood. Alex hugged his mother to his chest, allowing her a moment to grieve before giving the signal to Ian to destroy the data.

The loud crackling pop of Jack's vortex manipulator signaled the man's arrival mere seconds before he strolled in, dusty, dirty, and not a little bloody, but grinning like a mad man all the same.

"Alright, kiddos! Final stages are ready and players are in place to take these bastards down to the ground." He clapped his hand together and rubbed them in a menacingly greedy fashion. "You ready?"

Rose drew in a deep breath, forcing herself to relax against the anger simmering just under the surface. Meeting Jack's eager gaze, she bared her teeth in a grin and practically growled, "Definitely."

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Less than four hours later, a not-so-well-hidden chemical munitions plant lay in smoldering ruins near the Capitol building. As it turns out, Chief Advisor Kjisnaofendwe did not take lightly the idea of being imprisoned and tried for his crimes against the people he should have been serving. So, his decision to murder the Supreme Chancellor and sunsequent attempt to wrest control of the country during such a violent rebellion might not have been as well thought out as he had hoped. Bare minutes after Marke ceased to be, First Minister Ranwenn and his security forces, broke down the inner chamber door and arrested Kjisnaofendwe, adding another murder charge to the already lengthy list of crimes against the citizenry.

First Minister Ranwenn Baszrik was instilled as temporary Chancellor immediately. (Though, to be honest, if the murmurs of the people were anything to be believed, it would not be long before the assignment would be made permanent.)

By midnight, the old regime had fallen and the people were celebrating their new beginnings. Soldiers loyal to Marke were rounded up and imprisoned, political allies were re-examined or discharged completely, and the officers of the new government were assigned only roles that would benefit the country as a whole. All in all, it looked to be a fantastic system that would take hold very quickly and very strongly.

Ranwenn and a small security detail escorted Rose and Alex to where Ian had moved Gea once the fighting was over.

"I don't know how to thank you for everything you've done. I wouldn't even know where to begin!" As exhausted as he was, the joy on Ranwenn's face was obvious... and infectious!

Rose grinned to her new friend and wrapped her arm through his affectionately. "There's no need, Ran. I promise! We're happy we could help at all, because this," she gestured around them, "This is worth every minute."

He squeezed the hand wrapped around his arm, his joy dimming for a moment. "I just wish your own search had led to more happy endings."

"Me, too, but I think it's for the best. It has to be and I have to believe that."

As they arrived at Gea's front doors, Rose luxuriated in the feel of her ship wrapping her mind in warmth and love even as Ranwenn took her hands in his own. "My lady Rose, if you  _ ever  _ need anything at all..."

"I'll let you know."

Alex clapped Ran on the shoulder and lowered his voice conspiratorially. "You know, you  _ really  _ should send word to the Shadow Proclamation about the recent shift in power. You never know what they might be able to assist this new government with."

Ran grinned to Alex. "First thing in the morning, my friend." He pulled Alex into a hug, then kissed Rose on the cheek. "Thank you again."

"Good-bye, Ranwenn. And good luck!"

Gea's doors closed behind Alex, shifting into invisibility as soon as the lock clicked in place.

Rose sighed to herself, satisfied at the end result. She saw the timelines, knew what was in store for this little world. "They're going to be so busy, Alex. So soon." Alex rubbed his mother's shoulder and drew her in for a squeeze as they approached the center console. And a rather shocked Ian.

Rose straightened at the sight of her son, worry setting in as worry does. "Ian? Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

He didn't take his eyes from the screen. His mouth moved – open, closed, open, closed – but no words came out. Alex, darted to his brother, placed one hand on his shoulder and glanced at the display. His eyes widened and darted from screen to his mother and back again.

"Mum?" Ian's voice seemed a little thready. "Did, uh... Did you wonder, in all that time,  _ why _ Ran called you 'my lady?"

Rose arched an eyebrow at her son. "Not really. Respect, maybe?"

Alex whistled low as Ian laughed. "No, mum, sorry. You should see this though." With a flick of his fingers, the display on the screen in front of his shot up into the air around the console, increased in size proportionate to the original, and just as clear as if she were standing in front of the original. And at more than fifteen feet tall, the mural presented to her was definitely one to be in awe of.

Rose sighed out a soft, "Oh!" at the same time as Alex's "Damn!" and Ian's "Whoa".

She could tear her eyes from it. "How old is it?"

"About 3500 years. Mum," Ian breathed, "That's you. The legend states that a Great Lady appeared in the skies during a powerful battle, lighting up the night sky as far as the eye could see. She spread her arms wide and sang a great song, one powerful enough to make the soldiers lay down their arms and weep. She smiled and blanketed the land in light. Then... disappeared. Prophets across the world carved, drew, and sculpted this very same image dozens of times. This is one of a dozen or so remaining. It's beautiful."

The mural had been carved into a gold-threaded black sandstone and depicted a shining woman, blazing with power and strength, arms outstretched over hundreds of people. Dozens of other engravings weaved throughout the mural, including the day's successful coup. Romana's pod lay cracked open by a streak of gold, a figure in a greatcoat (very obviously Jack) stood at the ready, and even Gea had a place in the grand scheme of things as glowed as brightly as the gold ore she'd been carved into. But there, almost hidden away in the background of everything else, was another TARDIS. Rose raised a trembling hand to her lips and looked to her sons.

"Uncle Jack sent word earlier that he and Aunty River had found  _ him _ . Said they'll be joining us later."

Rose nodded, turning back to the mural, and trailed fingertips through the particles of light making up her once home. She drew in a trembling breath and smiled. "Let's go home."


	30. The Lottery

The Doctor had always been one to attract bad dreams. 

That's not to say he  _ wanted _ them, no! In fact, he would have been happy to not have them at all. Unfortunately, his subconscious seemed to enjoy wreaking havoc on him and would let loose those furies at almost every resting cycle.

So, really there was nothing he could do when, as tired as he was, he accidentally set the TARDIS coordinates for the Powell Estates. London. England. Earth. Sol System. 

Seconds before landing, reality set in as he realized what he'd done and, sighing to himself, he canceled the landing procedure and allowed his ship to simply drift in the Time Vortex, powering up and resting.

The Doctor sighed again. He was so tired. So old, so tired, and ready to just beg for just one moment of peace. He ran his hands through his hair and sat in the captain's seat beside the console.

A pinging from the monitor interrupted his thoughts moments later.

_ {Please Enter Security Measures To Access} _

What? The message itself was written in Old High Gallifreyan and was very specific. Only the correct sequence could unlock whatever it was and he'd only have one chance. Taking the chance that he might lose whatever was behind the firewall, he carefully entered his name, stopped - because wow what a thing to just put out there, Doctor. Good job, old man - erased everything, and entered his only other identifying signature: ‘Theta.’

He had no idea what made him change his mind, but he was certainly glad for it. The circular lettering of his people swirled for a moment, flared bright, then disappeared, leaving the monitor black and empty. He stood there in silence, absorbing the absolute lack of response, then lashed out in a way he had not done in centuries and slammed his hands on the console. He loosed an angry scream that seemed to boil up from his very soul and his knees gave out moments later when silence again reigned.

The sound of static filled the air, at first barely noticeable but growing in volume until it filled the room. The Doctor dragged himself up once more and simply watched the screen. The sound grew and grew... then stopped, leaving the screen blank but for a small pinprick of light in the very center that grew in much the same way the sound had: slowly until it filled the monitor. Colours were muted but the picture was crystal clear, showing a blank wall and a high wingback chair set in the center of the screen. No pictures on the wall or other background noise gave any indication of life or intention.

He watched, curious, then horrified, as the Master walked on screen, looking much the same as he had in their last encounter, if only less see-through, sat, and smiled into the camera.

"Hello, Theta. I think it's time we had a chat, and for the first time in oh so very long, you are going to listen. I apologize for this, but you've been locked out of all ship systems, including the relays playing this message."

Anger flooded his veins. Koschei had been his friend once, before his madness drove him to unspeakable things.

"Now, there's no need to get angry. I  _ did  _ ask your TARDIS for permission to override transmission and piloting protocols."  _ WHAT?  _ "So, let's get started."

The Doctor leaned back against the railing circling the console and listened as intently as he ever had, ready for traps and lies and pain. Because that's what the Master was best at. Manipulator. Liar. 

"I'm sorry, old friend, for every single thing I have ever done or said or thought against you. You were my best – my only – friend and I turned my back on you at every chance you gave me. I should have listened to you every time you tried to talk sense into me. I should have followed you, my General, as any loyal soldier would have done. I should have been at your side when you had to initiate the Time Lock." His voice broke and tears swan in his eyes, clear and bright.

"The drums drove me mad from the very beginning and I think you know it. You saw the difference in me immediately after the initiation. Rassilon used the Untempered Schism to plant the signal in my head so he could raise Gallifrey from the Lock, bring back a mad race, destroy everything." The Master took a deep breath and, clenching his hand together, released it carefully before looking back up. "I would have let it happen, Theta. I would have because I wanted it to end."

"Master..." As a compassionate man, the Doctor sympathized with him, but it would take more than an apology on a camera.

The Master sighed, scrubbed his hands across his face, and laughed lowly. "I know it'll take more than an apology to make up for what I've done."  _ Well, there you go then.  _ "But I hope this might make up for it."

The Master smiled at someone off camera and beckoned them closer. "I want you to meet someone very close to me. I love her dearly, Theta, and I know you do, too."

A woman, tall and beautiful, strode into the picture and, for several seconds, just stood there holding the Master’s hand and smiling. Tears pooled in her eyes and she grinned at a Doctor she couldn't see. And thank all the gods and goddesses he could name, because he knew her. He  _ knew _ her, even though he'd never seen that face,  _ he knew her! _

"Romana...," he whispered. His knees went weak and he would have fallen to the floor had he not been so close to the captain's chair.

"Come home, Doctor," she said in perfect, chiming, Old High Gallifreyan. The same she spoke every day in her role as Lady President of Gallifrey. There was no way to falsify it. "We miss you, we love you, and we need you. Come home." Romana grinned into the camera, the sparkle in her eye clear as anything. "It's... It's  _ fantastic _ !" She winked at him and waved before walking back off-screen.

The Master laughed at her before finishing: "The coordinates have been attached to the end of this recording. I know you're curious, and I know this has probably scared the hell out of you. I have to admit, when I was first brought here, offered everything I ever wanted and never thought I could have? Well, let's just say I know how you feel. We love you, we miss you, and we need you. See you soon, old friend."

At some point after the recording shut off, his beautiful, wonderful, perfectly amazing ship landed him on Earth's moon. A quiet, secluded (for at least the next hundred or so years) place that would allow him to absorb everything he'd just been handed.

The Doctor looked dazedly up the time rotor of his aforementioned gorgeous ship. "Can I see it again?" She chimed happily at him and played it again.

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He'd watched the recording four times before he regained complete feeling in his legs again and managed to haul himself up against the console. He dragged a breath in to battle the dizziness, grinned, and entered the coordinates he'd been gifted.

His ship glided through the vortex, smooth and graceful, with not one bump or jolt to signal the journey. Only once she'd landed did the Doctor dare to breathe normally. His left heart thumped hard, startling him for a moment.

_ Oh, please please please, not a heart attack. Not now. Not before I know for sure... _

A knock at the door shook him from his panic attack. "Come in!" His voice broke more than once and sounded a bit breathy.

Rose's son Alex popped his head in the door, "You know, Doctor, it's considered rude to come calling and never leave the car." He grinned at the pleased shock on his semi-father's face before entering the ship fully. "Doctor. Come on. You have people that want to see you." He held his hand out – a peace offering, at last. "Come on, dad."

Tears threatened then spilled as the two embraced for the first time.

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The Doctor pulled the door shut behind him, following Alex on his way to the large compound he'd parked near. "Alex," he began, "I need to ask. Is Rose... Is she here?"

Alex, grinned him crooked smile and tucked his thumbs in his belt loops. "Yep."

"Does she know I'm here?"

"Oh, yeah."

"Does she... Does she hate me?" He sounded so young and uncertain, Alex stopped mid-stride.

"Seriously?"

"What?"

Alex sighed and rolled his eyes. "Oh god... Look, Doctor," Alex placed his hands on the Time Lord's shoulders forcing him to meet his gaze. "Mum has loved you, or a version of you, for almost her entire life. She's been alive for a long time. And when she says you're it for her, that's that." He dropped his hold and motioned him to keep moving. "She's had a hard time of it, I won't lie. But mum's... Well, she's mum, ya know?"

"Yeah. And no. As you said, she's Rose."

A scream sounded from inside the house, loud and shrill. And if it had not been immediately followed by shrieking laughter, something crashing to the ground, and pounding footsteps, both men would have been worried. As it was, two women shot out of the house covered in something blue and green and dripping, and proceeded to fall to the ground laughing like loons. Jack and Ian stood in the doorway covered in even more goo and trying to glare, but failing completely.

Neither the Doctor or Alex could maintain a straight face and their laughter drew the attention of everyone present.

"Doctor!" A goo-covered Rose came bolting toward him, tackling him to the ground and kissing him breathless. "Welcome home."

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That evening, the Doctor stood in the doorway leading to the large family room holding each member of his family. He'd shed more tears that day than he could ever remember in any life before. Not only was his Rose just a few steps away, she'd given him (in a way) three beautiful children – four if you count Jenny (and you'd better count her!) - but she's given him a home. His friend would no longer need to worry about the suffocating madness, and his sister-of-his-hearts was happier than he'd ever seen her. 

And then there was Jack.

He would need to remember to speak with Jack as soon as possible.

Rose caught sight of his frowny-thinky face, and motioned him over. It was all a little overwhelming, of course. After so many years of being an orphan, the last of his species, and never-alone-but-always-lonely, it would take a while for it to sink in: This is not a dream.

Rose leaned into his side, letting him draw her closer and press kisses into her hair.

She sighed happily and snuggled closer, "You know what?"

"Mmm, what's that?"

"It's just gonna get better."

"Yeah." He pulled back and looked her in the eye, seeing all those lovely time lines and possibilities, the What-Ifs and Definitely-Wills, the Maybes, the Why-Nots, and all those lovely Impossible Things. "Yeah, it will."


	31. Epilogue: Torchwood

**16 May 2011. England, Earth, Sol system.**

As the new Director of Special Operations within UNIT, Martha Jones-Smith had just been given the task of a lifetime: Find Captain Jack Harkness.

Now, she just groaned and dropped her head to her crossed arms at the pub she'd found herself at.

Her husband, Mickey, was in Zimbabwe investigating the alien ship that had landed last week. The last time, they'd spoken, he'd reported that the Corinase ship had only landed on Earth after losing their orbital thrusters. It had taken everything their little ship had to offer  _ not _ to crash. Luckily, the Corinase were a peaceful people and had actually been sent on behalf of the Shadow Proclamation to study the development of Earth.

As a Class Five planet, Earth was considered off-limits to every species that would have made contact. Little did the Shadow Proclamation know that Earth was quickly becoming accustomed to off-planet visitors.

So, for the moment, Mickey was safe, Earth was conflict-free (off the off-world type, at least), and Martha just wanted another drink.

She could only hope Gwen Cooper could help find the man that had essentially disappeared after Miracle Day.

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Martha parked her rental near the beach house where Gwen and Rhys had made their home with their daughter Anwen. She hated to bring this back into their lives when they'd obviously gone to a great deal of trouble to get away from the strangeness.

She moved to knock on the door and was immediately faced with a handgun, cocked and loaded, ready to fire. Martha froze on instinct, then cringed a bit when Gwen started cursing in Welsh.

"Um, hi, Gwen." Martha's hand was still frozen in mid-knock position.

"Martha Jones. Well, come inside then. No sense standing outside all day." Gwen uncocked her pistol, engaged the safety, and tucked it in the back of her trousers while holding the door open for a still-shaky Martha.

"It's been a while since I've seen you last. Can I get you anything?" Gwen turned into the kitchen to start the tea.

"Actually, I'm here on UNIT business. I need to find Jack."

Gwen froze at the sink, her grip on her mug tightening until her knuckles whitened under the pressure. "Jack's gone. Again."

"I know," Martha whispered, "But I need to find him."

"Is he in trouble then? Done something to piss off the High-and-Mighty?" Gwen turned then and pinned Martha with a glare, pointing to the woman sharply. "You'll not be getting him from me, Martha Jones."

Martha gave the woman a small smile, admiring her for her loyalty to their friend. "Actually, no."

Inno small amount of shock and disbelief, Gwen put heer cup down before she dropped it. "No? Then what? Hasn't he done enough already?" Gwen sat and motioned for Martha to join her.

"To be honest," she started, "UNIT made  _ me _ Director of Special Operations. After Miracle Day, the higher ups realized very quickly that having Torchwood out of the picture was a bad idea. That's why I need to find him, Gwen."

Gwen still cringed at the memory of Miracle Day. As a matter of fact, she still had nightmares about the entire fiasco. She shook her head and sighed. "I don't know, Martha. He's already lost so much. It's why he left in the first place." She sat back then, thinking for a moment before she spoke again. "I'll help you. But, so help me God, if UNIT tries to hurt him…"

"You have my word, Gwen."

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Gwen made the call.

If she were honest with herself, the butterflies in her stomach when she heard his voice for the first time in two years almost made her sick. But she'd missed him so much, she'd take the butterflies any day.

"Gwen."

"Hello, Jack."

"Everything okay?"

"Oh, yes, fine. Right as rain. A friend of yours showed up here though."

"Are you in danger? Where are you? I'm on my way."

"No, Jack, it's okay, I promise. It's Martha. She wants to talk to you. And no, she's not in danger either. Can you come?"

Jack's sigh of relief was palpable. "Yeah, sure. When and where?"

"16th May, 2011. Let's say 14:30 and we'll meet you in Cardiff."

"Pizza shop near the Hub site?"

Gwen laughed. "Sure, Jack. We'll be there." Silence reigned for a moment. "I miss you, Jack bloody Harkness."

He laughed low at the endearment. "Miss you too, Gwen."

Gwen hung up her mobile and looked to Martha. "Time to go then."

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Of course he was late. Travel by 'space hopper' (as the Doctor referred to his Vortex Manipulator) wasn't as reliable as it could have been considering how old the equipment was, but it had only put him off by three hours.

Regardless of the wait, as he walked around the corner leading to the café, he heard "Jack!" in a very familiar London accent. "Martha Jones!" and swung his friend into his arms for a massive hug.

He set Martha down to address his former employee. "Gwen."

"Captain."

Grins broke on both their faces as they hugged.

"Now, what is so dire that it brings me back to Earth. Not that I'm complaining much, mind you…" He wagged his eyebrows at his friends.

Martha just laughed and said, "Stop it, Jack," in a tone very reminiscent of the Doctor.

The trio sat outside, far from prying eyes and ears, which turned out to be a good thing.

"UNIT needs Torchwood."

"Well, it was nice seeing you…" Jack stood and was immediately jerked back down to his seat by Gwen.

"Listen to her, Jack." Even he couldn't have said no to his once second-in-command when she used  _ that _ voice.

Martha cleared her throat and began again. "As I was saying, UNIT needs Torchwood, but Torchwood doesn't need UNIT. I've been given the go-ahead to kick-start a new Torchwood, but only if you're at the head of it. We  _ do _ need you, Jack."

"That's great and all, but all of our funding was seized by the government, as well as UNIT. How do you expect something like Torchwood to be restarted from nothing, as it were?"

"As the Director of Special Operations, I've also been authorized to grant Torchwood an almost unlimited budget. You have the authority to build your team and run it as you see fit."

Jack couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What about UNIT? How much do they want from Torchwood?"

"That's the great part, Jack." Martha grinned at her friend and leaned forward excitedly. "The only concession to the entire offer is this: Should Earth be in danger, UNIT and Torchwood will work together – equally – to resolve the problem. If UNIT needs help, we'll come to you, and vice versa."

"Why, Martha? Why now?"

She sat back, observing her Immortal friend. "Mickey put it like this: UNIT is military. They've got to abide by certain rules and regulations, permissions, etc. Torchwood is…"

"Separate from the government, outside the police, and beyond the United Nations." Gwen interrupted.

Martha nodded. "And Earth needs Torchwood."

Jack sat in silence for a long time. After everything he'd seen and done. All the bad, the good, the in-between. Now, he was being offered the chance to start over with the one thing that had made his long, long life worthwhile for so long.

He pursed his lips and steepled his hands at his mouth, watching Martha and Gwen carefully. "I can build my own team?"

Martha grinned at him.

01100100 01101111 01100011 01110100 01101111 01110010 01110111 01101000 01101111

Six months later, Jack, Gwen, Rhys, Rex, Jenny, Mickey, and Martha stood in the UNIT headquarters to receive the new Torchwood charter.

Brigadier Bambera smiled at the new team so eager to get started defending Earth once more. "Have you got your new base picked out yet?"

Jack grinned, excited as a child at Christmas, and squeezed Jenny's hand in his own. "Not yet, but we're working on that."

Bambera smirked and shook her head. "May I offer a suggestion?"

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Sure."

Bambera picked up the phone, dialed quickly, and requested a "pick-up of eight at my coordinates". As she hung up the phone, she looked at the assembled group. "Prepare for teleport in 3…2…1." The Brigadier's office emptied in a bright flash of light as a transmat beam engaged.

"Welcome, Torchwood, to what will be your new home, if you like." Bambera motioned to the view outside the window. A massive ship hovered in orbit above Earth, directly above the United Kingdom.

Bambera walked to the communication station nearby. "All hands, attention to orders. From Earth, UNIT Headquarters, to Captain Jack Harkness. As of this date, you are requested to take command of USS Defiant, also known as Torchwood One, in defence of Earth and its people. Captain, do you accept?"

Numb, Jack fell back on his soldier's training. He came to attention to Brigadier Bambera and saluted. "Yes, Ma'am!"

Bambera grinned. "Excellent. Computer, transfer all command codes to Captain Harkness. All hands, report to your stations." Bambera hung up the comm mic and held out her hand. "Welcome back, Torchwood."


End file.
